At just 78 square kilometres, the island of Guernsey sits snugly between England and France. Despite its unassuming appearance, the island has a longstanding reputation as an international financial centre due to its favourable tax policies and wealth-friendly regulations. As a Crown Dependency, the island is self-governing and thus has complete control over its own legislation and financial administration. While colloquially referred to as a ‘tax haven’, its tax-neutral policy and government stability continue to be very attractive to UHNW individuals, their families and their businesses.
Key draw factors include a 0 per cent tax rate for corporations registered on the island, as well as no inheritance and capital gains taxes, and its proximity to the UK, Ireland and France make it an excellent choice for domicile. £1 trillion is managed and administered in Guernsey, according to Guernsey Finance, and more than £120 billion of regulated private equity funds are domiciled on the island, says Locate Guernsey.
As a result, the island is a thriving hub for private wealth: many family offices, trusts and fiduciary services, private banks and wealth managers are also based here, eager to be available to their globally mobile client base and to take advantage of Guernsey’s wealth-sympathetic culture.
[See also: The Spear’s Wealth Management Indices 2026]
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Explore the other rankings within the 2026 Wealth Management Indices:
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- Best Wealth Planners
- Best Wealth Managers: Jersey
- Best Wealth Managers: Switzerland
- Best Wealth Managers: Middle East
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- Best Family Office Banking & Investment Services
- Best Generational Wealth and Family Business Advisers
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A market shaped by trustees
Scott Gillen of Barclays Private Bank, who has spent the majority of his eleven years at the firm working in the Guernsey private client space, describes a client split of around 60 per cent professional trustees and 40 per cent underlying clients. His work spans investment management, banking, lending, wealth advisory and philanthropy services – all delivered to offshore trustees rather than through the personal banking relationships more typical of onshore markets.
His philosophy is deliberate rather than passive: ‘For every penny you hold with us, there is a purpose and we are actively managing your money deliberately.’
Adrian Starr of Peregrine Wealth, whose firm manages around $925 million in client assets, takes a similarly considered approach to who he works with: ‘I like having clients where I can definitely benefit them.’
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His sweet spot sits in the £3–5 million range, and his starting point with prospective clients is deliberately informal: ‘If [they’re] in town, [I’d say] to them to come and have a coffee. I’ll chat them through it. At that point, it’s not about wealth. I think it’s about the client getting comfortable with what you’re doing.’
Click the links below to jump to a section of this article:
- Methodology
- Best wealth managers in Guernsey: some names to know
- Best wealth managers in Guernsey: the complete list
- Contact us
Methodology
Each year, the Spear’s Research Unit reassesses and refreshes its rankings of the leading providers in each sector by gathering data from and about the advisers and firms themselves, assessing submission forms, collating nominations, carrying out peer reviews, reviewing data from third-party sources, gathering references and recommendations, canvassing experts and conducting hundreds of interviews.
Advisers are evaluated using a proprietary scoring system that assigns different weightings to certain attributes. These scores feed directly into each new set of rankings in the Spear’s Indices. Each of these indices are published first online (according to the research calendar) and then in print. Print publication takes the form of the annual Spear’s 500 directory, which includes the top advisers in every index.
[See also: A guide to The Spear’s 500: Everything you need to know]
Each featured adviser is profiled on spears500.com. The site allows users to search the Spear’s database of more than 4,000 entities to find one (or more) to meet their specific requirements by filtering for specific attributes such as an adviser’s location, their specialist expertise and information about their client base.
Best wealth managers in Guernsey: some names to know
Jean-Luc Le Tocq
- Focus: Long-term wealth preservation
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Julius Baer
As the head of private banking for the Guernsey arm of Julius Baer, Jean-Luc Le Tocq has a clear view of his mission: ‘Our aim is to preserve and enhance our clients’ wealth over the long term.’
He believes an exceptional banker has a ‘real understanding’ of each client’s individual needs, as well as the wisdom to appreciate how those needs – and the client’s broader circumstances – may well change over time. ‘You also need to be experts in the field in which you operate,’ he adds, pointing to his team’s specialism in advising clients with non-UK situs assets.
Le Tocq reiterates that a successful private bank is really best measured by how much stress it can remove from its clients’ lives.
Read Jean-Luc Le Tocq’s full profile on Spears500.com
Justine Walley
- Focus: Enduring client relationships
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Rothschild & Co
Justine Walley heads up Rothschild & Co’s wealth management team in Guernsey, providing HNW clients and their families with advice on a range of financial matters.
Despite having only joined the company in mid-2021, Walley has already cultivated an extensive client pool – including those who are resident in Guernsey, relocating to the island or have interests there – who seek her out for their wealth and asset management requirements. This level of expertise was developed through a successful 21-year tenure at SG Kleinwort Hambros, where she headed up the firm’s private banking division.
Read Justine Walley’s full profile on Spears500.com
John Bell
- Focus: Portfolio management
- Ranking: Top Recommended
- Firm: Cazenove Capital
John Bell leads Cazenove’s portfolio management team based in Guernsey, where he is responsible for developing and growing the firm’s discretionary investment management offering in the Channel Islands, as well as managing client and intermediary relationships.
Bell joined Schroders in 2007 after spending almost two decades at Baring Asset Management. He is currently a member of the board of Schroders’ Channel Islands arm, under the Cazenove Capital banner, and is a member of the firm’s investment risk committee. He has been endorsed by industry peers and colleagues for having expertise in investments, wealth management, hedge funds, financial risk and private equity.
He is a chartered wealth manager and a chartered fellow at the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment, as well as a holder of company direction certifications from the Institute of Directors.
Read John Bell’s full profile on Spears500.com
Scott Gillen
- Focus: Trusts and fiduciary relationships
- Ranking: Recommended
- Firm: Barclays Private Bank & Wealth Management
‘We’re a global bank with a global reach but capable of delivering a local and personalised service,’ says Scott Gillen, a Guernsey-based relationship manager at Barclays Private Bank & Wealth Management. ‘In a location like Guernsey where new relationships are vital, being able to have a local face and deliver a local service while leveraging the reach of a global bank is a USP for us.’
Gillen is responsible for understanding the complex and diverse requirements of the bank’s international HNW and UHNW clients. He advises on a number of issues including lending activities, offshore banking and the full breadth of investment and depository services.
Read Scott Gillen’s full profile on Spears500.com
Best wealth managers in Guernsey: the complete list
Click on the individual names to be directed to more detailed profiles of each adviser on The Spear’s 500 website. The table is ordered by ranking and then alphabetically by surname.
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With additional reporting by Alice Coleman.
