Delegates were given an insight into Bermuda's competitive advantages by the Bermuda International Business Association at the Ernst & Young Global Hedge Fund Symposium held in Bermuda yesterday.

A panel including Anthony Whaley, partner at Conyers Dill & Pearman, Glenn Henderson from Fulcrum, joined Cheryl Packwood, chief executive officer of BIBA and moderator Jessel Mendes of Ernst & Young's Bermuda Asset Management practice to give their perspective on the benefits of doing business on the Island to more than 200 attendees at the event.

"Being offered an opportunity to present Bermuda's competitive advantages at the Ernst & Young Conference was truly an honor and a privilege for BIBA and its members," said Ms. Packwood. "We are trying to be more aggressive and assertive in drawing major distinctions between Bermuda and other competitors.

"Bermuda's market is far superior and our service providers are more efficient and affordable as well as being highly respected and experienced. This, along with new legislative changes, have put in place a foundation for growth in hedge funds and we are looking to seize on those opportunities.

"Attendees pointed out the growing interest in Dubai and the opportunities that exist for that jurisdiction to become a hub financial center in order to access financial resources in the Gulf region.

"Having just returned from Dubai, BIBA recognises the significant progress that has been made and knows that Bermuda must commit more of its financial resources to effectively build and broaden strategic relationships to access the growing capital base in that region. There are tremendous opportunities and we must aggressively seize them."

In his presentation at the symposium, Mr. Whaley said: "Bermuda's regulatory framework has long been one of its key selling points - hedge fund managers consider Bermuda to be one of the best regulated jurisdictions available, with a long track record in the industry.

"The new Investments Funds Act 2006, which came into force on March 7, introduced a number of changes, although the regulatory framework for Bermuda's hedge fund industry remains largely intact.

"The new Act brings more clarity and certainty about the process for hedge fund authorisation and continues to allow a high degree of flexibility. For example, private funds with 20 or less investors are specifically excluded from the scope of the Act.

"Bermuda therefore should continue to attract a growing number of "blue chip" hedge fund managers which has become its staple ever since it first opened for investment fund business. One of the keys to doing this is working even more closely with Bermuda's government, investing resources and putting the full thrust of the private and public sector behind our marketing efforts."

Added Mr. Henderson, "Bermuda's not catching up with Cayman but enjoying the sustainable growth that Bermuda desires. This jurisdiction actually has some arguments now that were not the case even just a few years ago.

"As service providers, we have capacity, we have stability. We're probably less transient a jurisdiction than New York or London at this point in time. We have new service providers opening up; ISIS, APEX, EQUINOX. Entrepreneurs knowing they can leverage Bermuda as a jurisdiction, that's encouraging."

Ernst & Young hosts a global series of Hedge Fund symposiums around the world in 15 cities including Amsterdam, Bermuda, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Hong Kong, London, Luxembourg, Malta, Minneapolis, New York, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Toronto, with the intention to bring together industry leaders and E&Y professionals to discuss vital and "hot" issues affecting the industry - especially from the accounting, tax and regulatory perspectives.

This offers attendees and panelists an opportunity to share knowledge and discuss and debate issues.

The organisations global series attracts more than 3,000 industry professionals (funds and service providers) and the response from the industry about the event has been extremely positive.