Solutions
The National Association of Investment Companies (NAIC), the industry association for diverse-owned and emerging private equity firms and hedge funds, has launched a new initiative to increase the number of women entering and advancing in the private equity industry.
A partnership between the NAIC and the American Investment Council (AIC) recognised that women are grossly underrepresented in the industry, making up just 10 per cent of senior employee ranks in private equity.
The difficulties women face in surmounting barriers into the industry is compounded by the challenge of effectively navigating their way towards senior level positions.
To achieve
This week’s recommendation on extending the alternative investment marketing ‘passport’ to fund managers in up to 12 non-EU countries is an important step towards improving choice for investors, says Invest Europe.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has presented its latest recommendation to the European Commission on extending the European Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive’s (AIFMD) passport to funds and fund managers in key jurisdictions outside of the EU. This would allow these ‘third countries’ to manage and market their funds to investors based in the EU.
As part of its country-by-country assessment, ESMA has advised that there are
The Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC) has welcomed the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) recommendation to the European Parliament, Council and Commission that Jersey should be among the ‘third countries’ granted an AIFMD passport.
The JFSC has fully engaged with ESMA and has been working closely with member state regulators as part of the assessment process.
Following ESMA’s advice, there is now a period of up to six months for the European Commission to propose appropriate legislation and for the European Parliament and Council of Ministers to agree to the third country passporting rules becoming applicable to Jersey
Guernsey has been recommended for a third country passport under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
The independent EU regulatory authority has assessed Guernsey, alongside 11 other non-EU jurisdictions, as part of its non-EU AIFMD passport reviews.
In its final assessment, ESMA has concluded that “there are no significant obstacles regarding investor protection, competition, market disruption and the monitoring of systemic risk impeding the application of the AIFMD passport to Guernsey”.
ESMA’s advice will now be considered for approval by the European Commission, Parliament and Council before they activate
Cloud technology – The scale of a manager's IT infrastructure will largely depend on the type of trading strategy. A quantitative market neutral statistical arbitrage fund is likely going to spend more capital on front-office portfolio management, risk management systems and server storage capabilities than a specialist credit strategy that trades infrequently.
Either way, investors will expect the manager to have a well-oiled machine in place: well-established workflow processes, operational controls, and, as far as possible, front- to back-office system integration.
One of the most popular routes to establishing a sound technology infrastructure is to appoint an outsourced cloud provider. It
By Dean Hill, Executive Director, Eze Castle Integration – There is no shortage of threats to financial services firms, and the list of requirements from investors and regulators alike is growing at a rapid pace. As a startup, it's important to demonstrate to investors that you take your business seriously, hence, investments in operational excellence are required. On the cybersecurity front, that means leveraging technology infrastructure with robust, security-rich features including intrusion detection and ongoing traffic monitoring, regular vulnerability assessments and next-generation software, firewalls and patches to keep hackers out and firm assets secure.
But beyond technology safeguards, today's successful
There are a number of important considerations for a fund manager, especially a start-up, when it comes to selecting an onshore depositary to an onshore AIF. But before these are explored, it is perhaps worthwhile explaining exactly what the role of the depositary is under AIFMD, given that alternative fund managers have never had to use one before.
Safekeeping of the AIF’s assets
There are two parts to this. Firstly, providing custody of financial assets that are held directly by the depositary (i.e. stocks and bonds, options and futures). Secondly, performing record keeping and ownership verification of an AIF's assets,
There are a multitude of costs that a start-up alternative fund manager faces today, especially with respect to those looking to establish a hedge fund under AIFMD. From regulatory costs and waiting to receive FCA authorisation, to office and IT and staffing costs, the amount of burn capital that managers initially account for can rapidly disappear down the drain.
Which is why Linear Investments is proving to be a whole lot more than merely a boutique prime broker. In short, Linear has spent a number of years building out its trading and risk management systems to provide start-ups with a
For those wishing to set up a standalone Alternative Investment Fund, getting the right service providers in place is crucial to the manager's long-term success and reputation. The following sections detail what to look for when it comes to appointing four key service providers:
• The Fund Administrator
• The third party AIFM
• The depositary
• The Prime Broker (for hedge funds).
Onshore depositary
"An AIFMD Depositary Bank is tasked with: oversight of assets, activity, and the manager; safekeeping of assets (where required); cash flow monitoring; strict liability for restoration of lost financial assets and reporting breaches. In short,
Nasdaq welcomed a combined 176 new listings – including 68 initial public offerings (IPOs) – in the first half of 2016 to its US and Nordic exchanges, maintaining its position as the leading global exchange venue.
This includes DONG Energy – the largest IPO of 2016 YTD across global exchanges – and a record number of 13 company listing transfers from NYSE.
Despite a global market under pressure from a combination of economic and political uncertainty, companies from a diverse range of industries and geographies successfully launched their IPOs on Nasdaq's US and Nordic exchanges, raising USD3.8 billion and
Events
12 November, 2026 – 8:00 am
12 November, 2026 – 5:00 pm
