Latest News
As South Africa’s leading alternative fund administrator, it was logical for the IDS Group to look to extend its services to Europe. The firm was examining the traditional options of Luxembourg and Dublin – when a meeting with Prof. Joe Bannister, head of the Malta Financial Services Authority, started the process that resulted in IDS setting up an office in Malta in the spring of 2010.
It’s not surprising that so many fund managers, promoters and service providers cite the welcoming and accommodating attitude of the MFSA as an important factor in the decision to establish funds in Malta. IDS
By Laragh Cassar – Malta’s rules on the redomiciliation of investment funds have contributed to its success story as an alternative fund domicile in the European Union. Coupled with a robust yet flexible regulatory framework and a highly skilled workforce, Malta can offer fund managers added value and synergies through increased efficiencies and returns.
Merit is also due to the Malta Financial Services Authority as it has lived up to its philosophy of offering a level of flexibility within firm regulatory principles, earning itself the title of a reputable authority while being sensitive to the particular requirements of applicants.
During
Malta’s success in attracting international fund business is mostly down to the Professional Investor Fund regime, introduced in 2000 when the Malta Financial Services Authority issued the Guide to the Establishment of Professional Investor Funds. Previously funds established in Malta had been largely aimed at the domestic retail market, but the launch of PIFs started to draw attention from international fund promoters and managers targeting sophisticated investors.
There are three categories of PIF with differing minimum investment levels and other rules, reflecting the type of investors at which they are aimed. Experienced Investor PIFs are designed for more affluent and
By Katya Tua – Although Malta has seen its profile grow among the global financial services community particularly over the past two or three years, its fund industry has been developing for more than a decade.
Even at the outset, the island’s potential as a jurisdiction offering appropriate and flexible fund regulation was evident, and the regulations allowing companies to be redomiciled have existed since 2002. Redomiciliation is available for any corporate structure, regardless of whether it is licensed or not in the original jurisdiction, enabling other types of corporate entity to be redomiciled to Malta.
For a licensed entity
By Simon Gray – For most of the past two decades, there have been only two significant international fund domiciles and servicing centres in Europe, Luxembourg and Dublin. But just as new rules governing both traditional and alternative investments draw promoters’ and managers’ attention to the advantages of establishing fund vehicles within the European Union, the Mediterranean island of Malta is staking a serious claim to a share of this burgeoning market.
The inhabitants of the Maltese archipelago, which also comprises the sister islands of Gozo and Comino, have long wrestled with the conundrum of achieving economic development in a
Fitch Ratings says that European Absolute Return (AR) and Multi-Asset Flexible funds did not always perform well and provide investors with sufficient downside protection during the market volatility this month.
European AR funds lost 2.5% and Flexible funds lost 7.6% in the first three weeks of August, according to aggregate data from Lipper. This results in a year to date negative performance of -3.5% and -8.9%, respectively. Not all funds in the top quartile of European AR funds have managed to preserve capital year to date. Flexible funds avoided 70% of the August market decline. However, only half of them
Touchstone Investments has added to its alternative investment offering with the launch of the Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund. The fund will be sub-advised by Longfellow Investment Management Co., which also serves as sub-advisor to the Touchstone Short Duration Fixed Income Fund.
The Touchstone Merger Arbitrage Fund seeks to achieve positive returns regardless of market conditions over the long-term. It primarily invests in securities of companies that are involved in publicly announced mergers and other corporate reorganisations. Merger arbitrage is an investment strategy that seeks to capture the "arbitrage spread" represented by the difference between the market price of the securities
It’s been a good four months for Morgan Stanley’s Dublin-based UCITS platform, FundLogic Alternatives.
Leading hedge fund administrator SEI this week launched a set of online tools to help managers meet new requirements under the UCITS IV Directive.
June saw UCITS funds get hit with net outflows of EUR29billion over investor concerns of the continuing economic woes in Europe and the US according to the latest figures released by EFAMA.
