“The combination of promotional initiatives of FinanceMalta together with the support of the industry’s various operators and practitioners has contributed strongly to the growth of Malta’s fund industry as we see it today. If you look at the numbers, we’ve had compelling growth since 2007 in both the number of funds and various service providers,” notes Kenneth Farrugia, Chairman of FinanceMalta. When FinanceMalta was established in 2007 to actively promote the island on the global stage, the number of Malta-domiciled funds was 214. That figure is now closer to 600. Malta’s entry to EU membership in 2004 was the primary

By James Williams – Malta remains a relatively small European domicile. Combined net assets of Maltese funds at the end of June 2012 totalled EUR10.3billion; up from EUR8.3billion in 2011 but still way off more established jurisdictions like Luxembourg, whose wholesale funds market has ballooned to EUR2.523trillion according to its national regulator, the CSSF. Malta, however, knows what its strengths are and continues to focus on presenting itself as a viable option for hedge fund and private equity managers. The number of Maltese funds is now up to 578 according to the island’s promoter, FinanceMalta, of which 460 are Professional

By Dermot Butler, Custom House – Custom House has been an active supporter of the financial services industry in Malta for almost ten years, since before Malta joined the EU. Since then, Malta has grown, as we had predicted, although at a much faster rate than I had anticipated all those years ago. Of course, next to Luxembourg and Dublin – the two EU Goliaths in the international hedge funds servicing world – Malta is still David looking for a suitable little pebble for his sling shot. In my experience over the last ten years, Malta’s “little pebble” has been

By Bradley Gatt & Dr Jean Farrugia, DF Advocates – The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) launched its revised Investment Services Rulebooks by way of final implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive (AIFMD) and relative commission delegated regulations on the 27th June, 2013, thus making Malta one of the first European Union (EU) Member States to begin processing AIFMD applications. This has brought forth fundamental changes to the Maltese regulatory framework in the financial services sector, which affect both EU and non-EU alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs). Apart from regulating EU AIFMs managing both EU and non-EU alternative

By Joseph Saliba, MamoTCV Advocates – As an EU Member State, Malta has to confront the continuous challenge of remaining up to speed with all the legislative and regulatory changes being enacted by the EU, the latest of which being the AIFMD. In typically timely fashion, on the 27th June 2013 the MFSA published the complete Investment Services Rulebooks, modifying the previous framework whilst retaining flexibility through the exercise of available derogations in the Directive. Local practitioners and other interested players, including the promoters and service providers of locally established alternative investment funds, have been impatiently awaiting the publication of

By James Williams – There’s no question that Malta has come a long way as a fund jurisdiction since it entered the EU in May 2004. Political stability, a strong banking system and a business-friendly regulator in the form of the MFSA are important macro considerations for any fund manager looking to launch new funds into Europe. In recent years, hedge fund firms like Finisterre Capital LLP have moved their operations onshore to Malta, as well as Comac Capital LLP, Clive Capital LLP and energy hedge fund BlueGold Capital Management LLP. Moreover, Malta has started to see the launch of

Over the last 18 months, Calamatta Cuschieri Fund Services (CCFS) has seen the number of funds it administers grow steadily as the Mediterranean island continues to attract a fair deal of new business, enticing both start-up & seasoned fund managers. Michael Galea, CCFS’s Head explains that the influx of interest extends across a wide range of strategies from plain vanilla long-only strategies through to fund-of-funds and high frequency trading strategies involving derivatives. “We have a good mix of funds on our books. A majority of these are Professional Investor Funds (PIFs) but we also administer retail funds, including our proprietary funds, which are sold under the UCITS regime,” says Galea.

By Dr Kurt Hyzler, CSB Advocates – Malta recently reinforced its position as a progressive hedge fund jurisdiction within the EU when, on 27th June 2013, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) announced that it was the first member state to have fully transposed the Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive (“AIFMD / Directive”) into Maltese law. During the implementation process, one of the dilemmas faced by the MFSA was the viability of retaining the Professional Investor Fund (“PIF”) regime which, as at the end of 2012, accounted for more than 84% of all collective investment schemes licenced in Malta. Mindful