Shadow Finance Minister David Burt said: “The first thing I will say is I just want it to be very clear that the Minister and the Government will have the support of this side of the House on this matter.“What this Bill is doing is, it follows up on the work that was started under the Progressive Labour Party with the Asset Management Task Force.“And the Asset Management Working Group, which is falling under the Bermuda Business Development Corporation, is a successor of the Asset Management Task Force and the work that is being done insofar as developing the capacity for Bermuda to compete more effectively in the asset management space.”Mr Burt said the Minister was right that we have fallen behind in the space over the years and for many different reasons.“But the fact is that we have the capacity to grow in that area as we have the capacity to grow in other areas. And this piece of legislation can help us with that growth,” Mr Burt said.He added: “In the run-up since this Bill was tabled last week, Mr Speaker, and this week I was fortunate enough to have briefings with the team at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Economic Development, and I also had meetings with members of the Asset Management Work Group, which is a part of the Bermuda Business Development Corporation. And as I said before,“Mr. Speaker, Bermuda does have work to do to be more competitive in this space, and this is a start, without question.”He further said: “Political risk is something that is very important, and it is something that all investors consider when they are making decisions and choices.“And we would like the signal to go out to the investor community that this side of the House will support the work of the Bermuda Business Development Corporation, because, after all, the Bermuda Business Development Corporation was the PLP’s idea.”Mr Richards had told the House of Assembly: “Bermuda has built a reputation as a leading reinsurance market, one of the top three markets in the world. The strategy underlying the Investment Funds Act amendment is that Bermuda be seen not only as a reinsurance centre but also as a major player in the global funds industry.”