Alternative Investment Funds (“AIF”)
Registered Alternative Investment Funds (“RAIF”)
Cyprus offers both EU-regulated Undertakings of Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (“UCITS”) and Alternative Investment Funds (“AIFs”). In July 2018 Cyprus modernised and upgraded its AIF legislative framework through the Alternative Investment Funds Law of 2014 and introduced Registered AIFs (“RAIFs”), which do not require authorisation by the supervising Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (“CySEC”) to commence operations provided they are externally managed by an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (“AIFM”), as per the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Law 2013, based in Cyprus or any other EU Member State.
The new legislation provides a contemporary regulatory framework for establishing, managing and operating AIFs and RAIFs that is both cost and time-efficient and which adheres to the relevant EU Directives and compliments the Cyprus Investment Programme enacted in February 2019.
AIF / RAIF
The Firm can assist with:
- Setting Up and Licencing. Preparation and submission of an application package to CySEC to obtain a licence, including advice on the most efficient way to set up the fund as regards staffing, organisational structure and costs.
- Legal and Compliance Services. Establishment of the legal entity, ongoing legal support and compliance regarding the affairs, agreements and structuring of the fund and any subsidiary entities.
- Fiduciary and Custodian Services. Provision of fiduciary services to the fund, its subsidiaries and its unit holders including all custodian services required by the fund in relation to investments in non-regulated financial instruments.
Through affiliated audit firms we can supervise/manage the following:
- Administration, Audit and Internal Audit Services. Ongoing provision of Audit, Internal Audit and Administration services.
- Tax Services. Provision of advice as to the tax structure involved including the structure involved between the fund and the investments in a way as to maintain tax efficiency for the manager and unitholders.