2026 Deloitte Cayman Islands Technical Brief for Investment Funds
Accounting, Auditing and Regulatory
The Cayman Islands continues to be the leading jurisdiction for offshore investments funds, and it has experienced steady growth in the number of funds in recent years. At the beginning of September 2025, there were approximately 13,000 Mutual Funds (open-ended funds) registered in the Cayman Islands and approximately 17,000 registered Private Funds (closed-ended funds). Also, since 2020, when the Cayman Islands introduced a virtual asset service provider framework, there has been an increase in the number of registration and licensing applications for services in the digital assets industry of the Cayman Islands. Recent regulatory updates continue to align the Cayman Islands with international standards, a step expected to further bolster its digital assets industry.
From an accounting and financial reporting standpoint, over the past year, there have not been significant updates to United States or International Accounting Standards that will affect investment managers and/or investment funds. In this Tech Brief, we have summarized some upcoming accounting and financial reporting standards that investment funds and their managers may have to contend with. Some of this content has been covered in previous Tech Briefs.
On the regulatory front, we have included a summary of select regulatory matters and some updates to Cayman Islands regulations and acts discussed in previous Tech Briefs. Although there have been some new developments over the past year, these are not expected to significantly impact the investment funds industry.
Our 2026 Tech Brief covers:
- a brief overview of the voluntary liquidation process for Cayman Islands investment funds
- specific circumstances where a registered liquidating Mutual Fund or Private Fund may be granted an exemption by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA)
- factors motivating managers and those charged with governance to explore voluntary liquidations
