DMS Offshore Investment Services Ltd and White Oak Global Advisors have launched of an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) hosted on the DMS Irish platform.
White Oak has engaged the DMS AIF platform, which is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland as an AIFM in Ireland, and by the CSSF in Luxembourg, to access its European investors, taking advantage of the firm's established track record in fund governance and expertise in independent risk management in Europe.
Since the enactment of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) in 2013, DMS has developed this proprietary AIF Platform to provide investment managers with solutions for their AIFMD requirements. It employs top-tier service providers, thereby allowing managers an efficient route to launching an AIF in Europe.
"AIFMD has presented a significant challenge for US investment managers doing business in Europe and by engaging a local partner, fund managers can focus on their core competencies of asset management," says Derek Delaney, Managing Director of DMS Europe.
“For US managers seeking to raise capital in Europe, these challenges include navigating country-specific AIFMD rules, if they do not have access to the regulatory passport that AIFMD mandates.
Stuart Fross, Partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, legal advisors for White Oak, noted that while AIFMD might seem like a lot to digest for US managers, the opportunity is too big to overlook and by engaging an AIFM such as DMS, US fund managers can outsource almost all of the AIFMD downsides and get the passport upsides.
"With an outsourced AIFM, the advantage is that all the heavy lifting has now been done and this now allows U.S. managers to get on with managing money across the EU," he adds.
From its European base in Dublin, Ireland and with offices in London and Luxembourg, DMS has an established presence in fund governance and independent risk management in Europe, through which it partners with European managers to serve investors and work with other service providers.
