Jamaica Observer- The four international offshore leaders are the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas and Bermuda, which all come under the Caribbean offshore jurisdiction. Of these four, the Cayman Islands overshadows its competition by a wide margin with 80 per cent of the World’s hedge funds being registered there. It is estimated that individuals have invested over US$262.80b in hedge funds domiciled in the Caribbean.
A "hedge fund" is a speculative investment vehicle where managers use riskier (Jamaicans seem to love the word "risk" as of late) trading techniques in an effort to gain a higher return on investments, meaning above the "sweet spot" return of 8-12 per cent per annum after fees.
A hedge fund has the ability to invest in an array of assets such as bonds, commodities, currencies and derivatives on behalf of its clients and they carry a specific targeted return irrespective of market conditions. The reason behind a hedge fund’s high level of risk is its highly leveraged nature which all translates into its volatile performance.
