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The Cayman Islands Government published The Limited Liability Companies Bill, 2015 on 18 December 2015 which, when enacted, will provide for the introduction of a new Cayman legal vehicle, the Cayman Limited Liability Company (LLC). The draft legislation closely aligns the Cayman LLC to the United States' Delaware LLC model which will mean that the new structure will be instantly recognisable to the US market. This is a significant development for Cayman.
"The introduction of the Cayman LLC will be an important step for Cayman and will represent an entirely new corporate form for managers and investors to use in
- 26/01/2016
Susan Lock (pictured) is a partner in the investment funds team at Campbells, a leading Cayman Islands law firm which has been established for over 45 years, advising on both Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands law.
She observes that the launch environment for new funds and emerging managers has become "manifestly harder, more competitive, costly and more time consuming". Fund launch costs are rising, primarily because of the increased need to meet regulatory and compliance reporting and investor scrutiny.
"Investment managers now have to not only show a compelling investment strategy and a proven track record but they also
- 26/01/2016
The debate around appropriate corporate governance continues with institutional investors, in particular, seeking greater insight into the role, responsibilities and skill sets of those appointed to the boards of corporate funds.Â
- 26/01/2016
With more consolidation expected in 2016 within the hedge fund administration space, those that thrive and survive will likely be ones with a strong reputation, a robust operating model that is able to support managers of all shapes and sizes, and a clearly defined multifarious revenue stream.
In the Cayman Islands, administrators are continuing to see a stable start-up market, but as Jack McDonald, President and CEO at Conifer Financial Services points out, there has also been a good level of takeaway business as managers look to rotate out from their existing administrator into a new one. "At Conifer we've
- 26/01/2016
ICG Management Limited ('ICG') is an independent director services provider. It was established in 2006 by Ralph Woodford (pictured) and Andrew Galloway. Along with Galloway and Woodford, the firm's two other directors, Brad Cowdroy and Greg Link, ICG provides director services to offshore funds.
Speaking to Hedgeweek, Woodford and Cowdroy explain how the agendas and contents of board meetings are changing, principally in response to growing regulation, and the subsequent impact this is having on a Director's role.
Fund valuations
Following the implementation of AIFMD, the responsibility for fund valuations has morphed from the Fund Administrator's responsibility, with board oversight,
- 26/01/2016
- 26/01/2016
The Cayman Islands is preparing to introduce a new vehicle, the Cayman LLC, in response to growing demand among U.S. fund managers and attorneys. The Cayman Islands published a bill for a new stand-alone LLC law on 18 December 2015 and according to Hayden Isbister (pictured), Partner at Mourant Ozannes (Cayman Islands), the expectation is that it will be approved by the Cayman Government and enacted in early 2016.
The draft bill is based, in part, on equivalent Delaware LLC legislation and therefore provides for a legal framework that will be familiar to practitioners using Delaware LLCs.
"At the moment
- 26/01/2016
By Ashley Gunning (pictured) & Charlotte Beales-Hart – Commentators to the hedge fund industry agree that the fund administration landscape has been altered significantly by the mergers and acquisitions activity of the last few years. The consolidation of larger institutional services providers in this space, along with the exit of some smaller administration shops, has naturally flowed through to impact the industry in the Cayman Islands.
Recent notable consolidations include SS&C Technologies' acquisition of Citigroup's Alternative Investor Services hedge fund and private equity offerings and the agreement by UBS to sell its administration business, including the UBS operation in the
- 26/01/2016
- 26/01/2016
By Geoff Ruddick – There has been an extraordinary focus on and trend towards `split boards' in the last few years. For most people the accepted definition of a 'split board' is having independent directors from different fiduciary firms. It is considered by some to be the best way to construct a board. In reality this is an overly simplistic definition and assessment of how to recruit and construct an effective and diverse board. So how did this readily accepted definition come to be? In some respects there is merit and in other respects it is simply a sales pitch.
- 26/01/2016
By Chris Humpries (pictured), Stuarts Walker Hersant Humphries – The Cayman Islands is the principle offshore jurisdiction for hedge funds and mutual funds and seeks to retain its status by implementing an innovative legislative and regulatory regime and by continuing to have an absence of taxation. Hedgeweek Global Awards 2015 declared The Cayman Islands the best hedge fund services jurisdiction. Given the historic success of the Cayman Islands as a fund domicile, it also boasts the presence of sophisticated and professional service providers who are knowledgeable in the nuances of the fund industry.
Some of the core changes to the funds industry
- 26/01/2016
- 26/01/2016
It’s safe to say that the Cayman Island Government’s in-tray is probably rather full at the turn of the year. Two major developments are in train, both of which are set to further enhance the jurisdiction’s reputation. The first of these developments is the impending introduction of a new legal vehicle – the Cayman Islands limited liability company (“LLC”), which is expected to be brought into force in early 2016 (likely March or April).
The second development is the introduction of an AIFMD opt-in regime, with the hope that come the end of 2016, Cayman will be on ESMA’s Third
- 26/01/2016
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