ABOUT ADCO FINANCIAL GROUP

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St. Lucia first entered the crowded offshore financial services space in the year 2000.  Unlike many countries, St. Lucia operated on a private-public partner model whereby a private concern, Mr. Robin Kelton, a British financier, paid to have the laws written, the software developed, and initial jurisdictional marketing costs met.

Government adopted the relevant laws through parliament and provided a Registrar of Companies to oversee the formation and registration of IBCs and Trusts and created what we now call the FSRA (Financial Services Regulatory Authority) to oversee the Registered agents, Trustees, and other license holders such as banks, insurance companies and mutual funds formed under the offshore laws. When Mr. Kelton needed a lawyer to draft the suite of offshore legislation he turned to St. Lucia’s own Michael Gordon.  Michael wrote the initial set of laws which consisted of:

 

 

• Registered Agent and Trustee Licensing Act

• International Business Companies Act

• International Trusts Act (now repealed)

• International Mutual Funds Act

• International Insurance Companies Act

• International Banking Act.

 

 

 

When the laws were first drafted St. Lucia had a lack of professionals with actual offshore fincnail services experience.  So the marketing company Mr. Kelton had created, called Financial Centre Corp or FCC for short (see website in our “ Helpful Links” page) called on Mr. Evan Hermiston, a Canadian Chartered Accountant who had just ended a 7 year stint in the Caribbean, mainly as the Country Manager of Coopers & Lybrand’s Antigua practice, a country with considerable offshore financial service activity.  Evan reviewed the laws, discussed with Michael and together submitted the drafts for parliamentary review.

Thereafter the question arose of once enacted, who would actually provide the necessary services to would-be clients.  It was then that ADCO was created.  A 50/50 partnership between Michael and Evan, Michael serves as Chairman of the firm while Evan acts as the day to day Managing Director.

To this day, 25 years on, ADCO remains the only firm to hold all three licenses ( RA, Trustee and Mutual Fund Administrator).  Operating from our offices in a beautifully restored rum warehouse we provide a full slate of offshore services including:

 

• Formation and Registration of Offshore Companies

• Application for Banking, Insurance and Mutual Fund Licenses

• Mutual Fund Administration

• Trustee Services

• Captive Insurance Management

 

 

We also provide services to our clients including:
 

• Provision of local and nominee directors

• Provision of company secretary

• Conduct of AGM and director meetings in person or by telephonic means

• Provision of nominee shareholders ( in limited circumstances)

• Captive

• Tax planning and structuring advice

• Accounting and bookkeeping, preparation of income tax returns (via Evan Hermiston, CPA, CA)

• Domestic legal advice (via our sister firm Gordon, Gordon & Co)