The Foundations (Jersey) Law 2009 came into force in July 2009. The introduction of a foundation Jersey law was to attract clients from parts of the world where the concept of a Trust is not widely known, or accepted, in particular civil law jurisdictions.
A Jersey foundation is a body corporate with its own separate legal personality and is registered with the Registrar of Companies in Jersey. A foundation however does not have shareholders or directors. Instead, once assets are placed into the foundation by the founder (who may reserve rights to himself or others), a Council of members will govern the foundation in accordance with its Charter and Regulations. The foundation's Charter will include the name of the foundation, its objects, as well as details of the initial endowment to the foundation. The Charter is a publicly available document.
To date, The Europlan Group has established a Foundation, the primary purpose of which is holding shares of Jersey Private Trust Companies ("PTC's").