Funds is a small word for a huge area. Funds are financial vehicles into which investors – both individual and corporate – pool their money for the potential to make more money collectively than they would do on their own.  These funds can take many forms, from property funds to hedge funds to private equity funds, and there is a lot of work that needs to be done in the administration.  All basically take a group of investors, collect them together, invest in something and then someone needs to ensure it all ticks over properly.

Guernsey’s fund sector is the fastest growing area of the finance industry and the variety of jobs available is wide.

There are accountants, legal and corporate secretarial roles, compliance, and administration roles and IT, human resources, marketing and business development have become increasingly important in the sector.

The funds area is often a mystery to those not working in finance so it is worth giving a breakdown of just what some of the career options are. Fund administrators basically maintain the records of the funds and produce valuations. Shareholder services deal with investor queries and maintain shareholder records. Company secretarial staff attend board meetings for companies and deal with the directors of the companies. Accountants prepare financial statements for funds and get involved in setting up new funds.  And compliance is the area that makes sure the funds adhere to regulations.

If you are looking to go into the administration side, the Securities and Investment Institute (SII) Investment Administration qualification is a way to train on the job as well as the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA) and accounting qualifications such as (AAT) or (ACCA).

If the idea of corporate secretarial is more appealing then the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators provides qualifications in this area, most of which you train for while working. There is also a MSc in Corporate Governance through the Training Agency’s link with Bournemouth University, which leads to the ICSA qualification.

There is a lot of human contact in this area of finance and being an enthusiastic person with good communications skills is important. There are also opportunities for travel and clear career progression in a thriving sector.

There are no minimum entry requirements but English and Maths GCSEs would be preferred, and you would go in at a higher level if you had A levels or a degree. If you were thinking of a career in this area, some sort of business studies and bookkeeping courses would also help.

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