Ipes Luxembourg has appointed Christophe Ponticello as Client Director and Head of Accounting. Ponticello, whose appointment is in response to exceptionally high demand for the firm’s service offering in Luxembourg, will play a key role in managing client relationships. He will also work closely with Simon Henin, MD for Ipes Luxembourg, on the day-to-day running of the office.
Ponticello has more than eight years experience working in the investment funds industry and with commercial companies. Prior to joining Ipes, he headed the accounting and reporting team for Real Estate and Private Equity funds SIF/SICAR and unregulated entities (Soparfi) at Caceis Bank in Luxembourg.
“Christophe’s skills and industry experience are a valuable addition to our business," says Henin. "We have taken on a number of new mandates over the last six months a trend which we anticipate continuing over the course of 2011 based on our new business pipeline. Investing in our team is therefore essential to realising our ambitions for growth in the jurisdiction.”
Ipes launched its Luxembourg operation in 2009. To date it has won eight new client mandates comprising 28 entities, including two SICAR funds, with most of these coming on board after the firm received its full PSF licence for central administration services in September 2010.
“I am excited about the opportunities joining a growing firm like Ipes presents me with” says Ponticello. “Luxembourg is becoming a domicile of choice for private equity fund managers in the EU and it seems likely that this trend will continue in the light of the AIFM directive. As one of the only providers in the jurisdiction focusing on the needs of the private equity industry, I believe Ipes is well placed to benefit from this growth in the market.”
The funds industry in Luxembourg has held up well and continued to grow despite the economic downturn. Notably, the latest figures released by the CSSF report a healthy 19.45% growth in the AUA in the 12 months to December 2010.
“As in our other jurisdictions, our aim in Luxembourg is to be recognised as the leading provider of fund services to the private equity industry and our ability to recruit personnel of Christophe’s calibre is key to achieving this. We are now actively recruiting to fill two further positions, and expect to be six people strong by the end of the quarter," says Henin.
