ACOLIN has teamed up with Renovaré Global, an independent consultancy, specialising in risk and operational due Diligence for off-shore funds, to provide representation for EU-AIFs and non-EU AIFs for distribution to qualified investors.
The revised Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA), which came into effect on 1/3/2013, requests foreign funds that want to distribute exclusively to qualified investors, to designate a Swiss legal representative and a paying agent until 28/2/2015 at the latest. In its Distribution Circular 2013/09, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has solidified the requirements of market participants.
ACOLIN Fund Services will now offer the firm’s comprehensive services to Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) – EU and off-shore non-UCITS, private equity, real estate and hedge funds – who will then be permitted to distribute to qualified investors. AIFs are an important component to the Asset Allocation process, particularly for discretionary wealth manager and institutional investors.
Depending on the domicile of these products, there may be significant differences regarding the regulatory supervision of products and fund managers. In order to reduce risks to investors, funds wishing to be legally represented by ACOLIN will be subject to a thorough and comprehensive Operational Due Diligence process to ensure that the AIF meets a broad range of operational criteria.
ACOLIN has initiated a partnership with Renovaré Global LLC, whose principal consultant, Neil Schwam has an extensive background in Risk and Operational Due Diligence, having held senior positions with Swiss-based Funds of Hedge Funds including Man Group and Harcourt Alternative Investments.
On behalf of ACOLIN, Renovaré will assess every offshore AIF, its manager as well as its service providers with an in depth Due Diligence, in order to identify potential operational risks and mitigate exposure to such risks. In addition, the specialists of Renovaré will conduct on-site visits with the managers and service providers where deemed necessary.
Based on the detailed knowledge of the products and managers as well as the recommendation of Renovaré, the management of ACOLIN will subsequently decide whether or not the mandate can be accepted.
Daniel Häfele, CEO of ACOLIN Fund Services AG says: “We are very pleased to be working with such an outstanding expert on alternative investment funds like Renovaré. As with public funds, qualified investors, who in the future want to invest in alternative funds represented by ACOLIN, will be able to rely on the assurance that these products comply with the highest quality and security standards.”
