The Topical Talks panel agreed more should be done to attract high net worth individuals to move to the island where they can play an ’active’ role in boosting the economy.

The original question came from Seamus Nugent, managing director of Dandara, who wanted to know about the wider implications and benefits that could arise from wealthy people beng able to invest here and create new employment and wider econommic opportunities.

Chief Minister Howard Quayle said he preferred to put the letter ’A’ in front of the term HNWI so that it means active high net worth individuals.

He said it was about getting people over here to invest in the economy, employ people and improve the infrastructure.

Acknowledging that several high net worths are already very active he said: ’I think we can do better and during the year 2020 government departments will be more active in getting out there and targeting and attending events to sell the island.

’You can never do enough, there is so much you want to do and because we are growing the economy we can start to do more to help.’

Seamus Nugent of Dandara said he believed one of the barriers is ignorance from people who don’t know about the island or they don’t know enough about the island.

He said it was pleasing the government’s website has a whole section on the subject in the ’Locate Isle of Man’ section which he found to be ’excellent’.

Mr Quayle questioned whether we would succeed in going down to London to try to attract high net worths to the island.

But he argued that places such as the North West of England and Scotland were all used to the same sort of geography and weather, for example.

Mr Nugent said he believed there were many people out there who would enjoy coming to live in the island.

Nigel Simpson, head of international markets, Zurich International, said: ’I like the term ’’active’’ because we need to attract the wealth creators to the island who are going to bring with them jobs and roles and ideas.

’You need to get that active population growth and that’s where the government needs to operate in a variety of different ways so that is it not difficult for people to set up businesses here.’

He believed this could well attract more high net worths to come and put their roots down here.

Mr Quayle said there had been a ’phenomenal’ approval rate from the business community for the recent changes made to the work permits system and incentives aimed at attracting more key workers.

’If we can enable the key workers (employed by) active high net worths to come over then that will help.

’We’re open to ideas. I hope the strength of this administration is that we know we don’t have the answers to everything and if someone comes up with a better idea that will work then I hope my ministers will listen to that. And we don’t see that as a weakness if we alter our policy because someone has a better idea.

’Obviously I can’t throw money at everything, there are increased demands on the health service, we have got climate change where we are going to have to find a significant amount of money and everything else.’

Seamus Nugent of Dandara said it was often the advisers or the ’introducers’ of wealthy people who should be approached.

Gary Lamb, chief executive of Manx Telecom, said: 'Awareness is really key. I spend a lot of time in London and there are so many people that don’t know where the Isle of Man is and what it is all about. That is one area where we should really think about doing more.’

It was suggested at the roundtable discussion that something be organised in the way of presentations and events in the island aimed at high net worths and their representatives or ’introducers’.

Peter Boxer, executive director of external relations at the Cabinet Office, said he knew of a great example where a former colleague of his from the UK had visited the Isle of Man and was so impressed that she was now determined to persuade her husband to consider moving here.

’She was the influencer, the gatekeeper.’

Richard Butt, the chairman of the discussion, suggested that the spouses of rich people who think of settling here might be disappointed by the level of amenities based here such as shopping, compared to where they were from.

Peter Boxer from the Cabinet Office replied: ’To be blunt is that not a bit old fashioned?’

Mr Quayle said that the government was indeed investing in sending people out to meet with introducers for group events that high net worths might attend.

Mr Quayle reiterated his view about active high net worths because they could have a positive impact on the community and helping the economy to grow for the benefit of everybody.

Stuart Chivers, head of banking at Isle of Man Bank, said they needed to work out a strategy about the reasons why people come here in the first place.

Meanwhile Ian Plenderleith, group managing director of Manx Gas, said it was important to consider the families of the active high net worths who come to live on the island, and to actively look at what amenities and activities were available, especially when the weather was poor.

He said that when you considered the island against Jersey and Guernsey, then the Isle of Man was the most spectacular of the three.

Seamus Nugent said business people he had spoken to who had moved to the island recently had said that people from the island were ’less pretentious’ and ’were more straight talking’.

Peter Boxer said his children, visiting from London, were amazed by the number of people who stopped to speak to them.