En Voyage_Issue#11_Flickbook

Business
‘DISAPPOINTING’ BREXIT
DEBATE LEAVES BRITAIN
IN ‘LESS GOOD’ PLACE
ABOVE LEFT
TO RIGHT:
SIMON OSBORN,
DAME HELENA
MORRISSEY
AND JON MOULTON
In May, Guernsey Finance hosted its annual showpiece event in London
– the Guernsey Funds Forum.
The fallout of the Brexit referendum vote in
the UK has been ‘a disappointing episode in
our country’s great history’, according to one
of the leading businesswomen in the City.
Dame Helena Morrissey, a leading figure in
the British investment industry, who is now
Head of Personal Investing at Legal & General
Investment Management, was a supporter
of Britain leaving the European Union.
She told the Guernsey Funds Forum in London
that she had wanted ‘a proper discussion
and debate and a diversity of viewpoint’ on
the subject in supporting Vote Leave.
‘It seemed to me that the way the world
is moving , we need governance close to
people and assets. People were very rightly
concerned about things that seemed very
remote from them. I was calling for a rethink
of our relationship. I thought it was worth
a discussion but we didn’t actually have
that debate. It became very shouty, very
politicised, and very angry very quickly. We
must all acknowledge that whatever view we
took before, this has been a disappointing
episode in our country’s great history.’
Dame Helena said she was somewhat
surprised at the refusal by many to accept
the outcome of the referendum when more
people voted to leave the EU than have
ever voted for a single UK government.
‘That unfortunately has detracted from the
decision and caused us to be in less good a
place than we otherwise would have been.
Dame Helena shared the stage with private
equity veteran and Guernsey resident Jon
Moulton, who was also a supporter of Brexit.
He said he too was disappointed by the
Brexit debate but also now by Britain’s
negotiating posture. He believed that Britain
should have expected a hard Brexit and any
further negotiations would be a bonus.
‘It would have been so much better than where
we are, the Europeans have no idea where
we’re coming from and nor do we. But done
well, we can end up with a stronger economy.’
MORE FROM THE GUERNSEY
FUNDS FORUM
Jon Moulton, the Guernsey resident
described as ‘the public face of the private
equity industry’, hit out at the ever-increasing
demands of corporate governance.
‘Far too many companies simply take
regulation without kicking back. Fund
managers on the whole don’t engage in
consultations – people whose interest is
in greater regulation are the bulk of the
people who reply to consultations, so it
becomes a self-reinforcing process.
‘We need to adopt an evidence-based
approach. Not what the compliance industry
wants, more rules, it wants more things to come
in and will keep shoving them in. It’s how they
justify their existence, but they need to justify it
by proving the interventions they put forward
are good for industry and good for the country.’
78 En Voyage | Aurigny’s Magazine