Bermuda has launched a bid to claw back lucrative asset management business from other countries like the Cayman Islands.

Business chiefs and Economic Development Minister Grant Gibbons have visited the US and invited movers and shakers in the industry to visit Bermuda in a bid to drum up more business and jobs for the Island.

Alison Morrison, managing director of compliance consultancy firm Oyster, said that the drive, linked to plans to promote courses run by the international US-based Regulatory Compliance Association (RCA), promised a boost for the economy and diversification in international business.

Ms Morrison, who also sits on the asset management committee of the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA), added that a major RCA conference in Bermuda next spring would focus the business spotlight on the Island.

She said: “It’s going to bring numerous people involved in the compliance business — lawyers, regulators, people who know what’s going on.

“The people on the panels will be very high level individuals from the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Justice and others.

“They will be able to give the people who attend a road map of what the SEC is looking for when they do assessments.”

Ms Morrison said: “Compliance is becoming huge for companies and is growing all the time.

“Compliance is a really good field for Bermudians to get into reinsurance, fund management and banks.

“I really believe there is a strong fit for compliance here because it’s not going to go away — there will be more and more regulations and rules people have to follow.”

She said compliance was also a vital component of the asset management business, which although still present on the Island, had lost a lot of business in the 1990s to other jurisdictions.

Ms Morrison added: “We want to turn the tide back and make Bermuda the domicile of choice.”

She said the Island’s courting of key figures was crucial to attracting the industry back.

She added: “We are really trying to listen to what people are saying. And there is a real push now to see Bermuda come back on the world stage.”

Dr Gibbons said that the asset and fund management and administration had been targeted to “provide more depth and more jobs”.

He added: “The RCA provides enormous reach and credibility, particularly in the United States, in this sector.

“They are very well known for their education in a number of different areas and the fact they have chosen Bermuda to hold a major meeting is not only a vote of confidence in Bermuda, but will bring some of the senior players in this industry to Bermuda.”

Dr Gibbons added: “We believe that there is great potential to grow this sector to a much larger degree and create the additional business we’re all looking to see in international business.

“We’re looking in more depth at how we can partner with the RCA to offer their programmes here and try and tailor them to to Bermudians who are looking to upgrade their skills or assist Bermudians coming back who want to get involved in this sector.

“The RCA, because of the extent and reputation of its courses, can do a lot to improve and grow the intellectual capital here in Bermuda.”