Permal is one of the first fund managers to take advantage of the new Irish Collective Asset management Vehicle or ICAV structure, with plans to use it to bring up to USD4bn of assets onshore.
Under the new legislation, which became law on 4 March, funds that are already regulated under the UCITs structure or the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) can take the ICAV route to onshore regulation in Ireland. Permal can now market funds across Europe with the new structure.
Over the next several months, Permal expects to move approximately 30 accounts, totalling approximately USD4 billion, to the ICAV from the British Virgin Island domiciled Permal Managed Account Platform (PMAP), which currently has 103 accounts and USD9.4 billion in assets
Omar Kodmani (pictured), Chief Executive Officer, Permal Group, says: “By creating ICAVs, Ireland has developed a first class onshore structure – a move that enhances its already leading jurisdiction status for regulated funds. This is the direction of investor tide, particularly for Europe where investors are seeking EU-domiciled fund structures and enhanced supervision by the likes of the Central Bank of Ireland. While we continue to believe that offshore domiciled managers and funds have a role to play, as a general trend we are seeing greater interest in more onshore options, and we will continue to build in this area.”
