Glen is a director with the Chicago office of Deloitte’s Private Equity, Mutual Funds and Hedge Fund industry practice. Prior to his relocation to Chicago in 2008, he was with Deloitte Cayman for 18 years and a partner there for ten years.
This is a perplexing question to the friendly American mid-westerners with whom I now work. I can’t tell you how many times my wife, Heather, and I have had this discussion with concerned Chicago residents. It usually ends with me reminding them that they live in ‘paradise (north)’.
After 18 years with Deloitte in the Cayman Islands and with our Cayman status in our back pockets our family moved from sunny Cayman to Chicago, America’s third largest city, in January of 2008. I accepted a position with the Chicago office of Deloitte’s alternative investment (hedge fund) practice. It has been a big lifestyle change for our entire family. Of that, there is no doubt. Do we miss Cayman? Of that, there are varying options in our household.
The biggest changes are obvious: weather and taxes. We were Canadians once upon a time and the second winter was tolerable. Our blood thickened up and we actually enjoyed some winter activities. In fact I even started playing old-timer’s hockey again. After 19 years of not even skating it was a painful return to the ice but I am not embarrassing myself too badly now.
Taxes came out of my paycheque bi-weekly and if I didn’t go onto the Deloitte online payroll system to look at my pay-slip it was almost as if the deductions didn’t exist. That was the case until I did my first tax return in 19 years and had to write a cheque to the IRS for underpayments. Ouch.
The office environment is slightly different with Deloitte Cayman at 200 people and Deloitte Chicago at 4,000! The people are great and the culture is similar at the office. I was afraid of the big city commute but that has been good news. I am 35 minutes door to door with a nice train ride featuring a real-world newspaper (no offense intended to Cayman’s media) to read on the way.
Business travel has been improved significantly from my old Cayman days. It is a pleasant change from Cayman to be able to fly to New York in the morning and back again in the evening. Upgrades may be less frequent but I don’t miss the twelve hours travel times.
We are still in the honeymoon period as far as the things Chicago has to offer. We have gone to more concerts, shows, hockey games, baseball games, etc. than I can count. I also believe this is the restaurant capital of North American with so many great eating establishments. This is the best city in North America – everything New York has to offer but in a civilized and tolerable lifestyle.
Schooling has been a challenge and my daughter has had to up her game. I can put to rest the fallacy that the ‘British’ school system is somehow superior to the ‘American’ system. These kids work hard and the teachers and school is incredibly engaged in teaching our children. I am not saying it is better but the impression that many seem to have in Cayman that the American system is somehow ineffective and lax, is sorely misguided.
The economy is tough obviously. That said, Chicago is a good place to be. The economy here is diversified and not as reliant on financial services as say New York where it has been ugly. Everyone here has experienced layoffs but nowhere near the magnitude of many other US cities. Our investment management clients are, for the most part, surviving and many are making opportunistic investments and purchases. Most will tell you the future is bright for their organisations.
Working in the investment management and hedge fund industry up here has given me some prospective on Cayman. The Cayman Islands are ‘the’ standard for offshore domiciles in our industry – without question. Offshore entities are assumed to be from Cayman and some are confused if they are not.
The Cayman professionals are respected in the hedge fund industry and are seen as an important part of the global teams. There is little awareness of the challenges Cayman and other domiciles face. Very few practitioners are aware of the challenges presented by the G20 or OECD. In Cayman we often tend to think that the hedge fund industry is watching carefully and that the ‘grey list’ classification taints the product. It does not and Cayman’s reputation is secure.
There is great respect for all regulators in general in this marketplace and CIMA is not excluded from that. I field frequent questions about Cayman entities and regulation. CIMA is perceived as an effective regulator in a world-class business center.
I continue to be surprised with the general lack of understanding of several elements of our offshore products. The segregated portfolio company for example is understood by no one up here. In fact, I am not sure there are many people offshore that truly understand these entities. This is an example of just one topic that Cayman could present and gain some profile by educating the industry. I would like to see a Cayman roadshow come to Chicago and other major centres selling the domicile for what it is – the world leader. To be most effective this roadshow should be put on by a cross-section of Cayman’s lawyers, auditors, directors and administrators and CIMA. Over the past year I have been to roadshow presentations by Bermuda and Dublin here in Chicago. The sessions are informative and create a very professional image of both of Cayman’s competitors. Of course these Bermuda and Irish speakers are quick to take advantage of any and all opportunities to bash Cayman.
Finally we miss the good friends that we made in Cayman. That said most of them have found an excuse to visit us here in Obamaland. Those visits have repeatedly led to ‘too much fun’.In summary: Winter and taxes = bad. Arts, sporting events (Go Blackhawks) and the city = good.Do we miss Cayman? Would we come back? Call me and we can discuss both.