Guest Post by Chris MacIntosh
We just spent the last week or so in the Cayman Islands attending the latest Mavericks conference (in between the usual activities one indulges in).
It is hard to get lost there….
And it’s rather easy to find a fine Cuban cigar and a chug of whiskey or rum to reflect on life.
Cuban cigars abound… but they are no bargain (I only bought a few, not the whole box). The prices are in Cayman Island dollars, so add 25% to get to a USD price. And fine Cuban rums… But at US$200 a tot (and more), all I did was admire them.
Given that we were there, I thought I’d share some additional thoughts on this cluster of islands in the sun. The Cayman Islands has seen significant growth in fund registrations and assets under management (AUM) over recent years, to the extent that it is now definitely the primary premier offshore financial centre. Some data points:
- As of today, Cayman hosts over 27,000 regulated investment funds, including hedge funds, private equity vehicles, and mutual funds.
- They’ve trillions in AUM, with continued year-on-year increases, particularly in private credit, digital assets, and hedge funds.
It is attracting capital for three simple reasons:
- Tax Neutrality: Cayman imposes no direct taxes on income, capital gains, or corporate profits, making it appealing for wealth preservation and intergenerational planning.
- Flexible Regulation: While regulated, Cayman offers streamlined compliance and fund structuring options.
- Sophisticated legal and financial ecosystem: Top-tier law firms, auditors, and fund administrators operate locally, ensuring institutional-grade infrastructure.
And then the big one that is impacting not just this little group of islands but other similar locations around the world such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, BVI — all experiencing an influx of capital that I call geopolitical capital flight.
It isn’t so much that the Cayman Islands is so wonderful, but rather that so many other parts of the world have taken a communist pill and accelerated the stealing of their citizens’ assets. In a land of the blind a one eyed man is indeed king.
Surprise, surprise, there are increasingly wealthy individuals in Europe and North America fleeing the communists in the EU and reallocating capital offshore, driven by:
- Surging sovereign debt and rising taxation risk in G7 economies.
- Concerns over political overreach, banking system fragility, and civil unrest.
- Fear of capital controls, especially in the context of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and declining trust in Western institutions.
- Cayman is seen as a neutral, dollar-linked haven with strong rule of law and a history of protecting client confidentiality (within legal bounds).
The Caymans used to be notorious for its secrecy. This is no longer quite the case. Sadly, it has fallen to the insanity of all the acronym soup misnamed “transparency initiatives” such as FATCA, CRS, and AML regimes.
Despite these increased reporting requirements, it remains attractive because it offers a less worse setup than elsewhere. What’s most attractive is legal clarity, operational efficiency, and a perception of greater asset security.
The key takeaways for me here are that the growth of funds in the Cayman Islands reflects a broader trend: wealth is moving away from politically unstable or over-regulated regions toward jurisdictions perceived as financially sovereign, geopolitically neutral, and structurally sound.
In that sense, Cayman stands out not just as a tax haven, but as a strategic base for capital protection in an increasingly uncertain global landscape.
Editor’s Note: The trends shaping the Cayman Islands are just one part of a much bigger—and more urgent—story. As wealth quietly shifts across borders and traditional strongholds weaken, understanding the why behind this geopolitical capital flight is critical.
To dig deeper into these tectonic changes—what’s driving them, what they mean for your personal wealth and freedom, and how to position yourself accordingly—read our latest special report: Clash of the Systems: Thoughts on Investing at a Unique Point in Time.
This is your chance to get ahead of the curve—before the next shock hits. Click here to download it now.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Administrator
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://www.theburningplatform.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.