Gibraltar readies itself for AIFM-conscious GPs

The British dependency has reworked its rules so that re-domiciled funds can continue using their previously selected fund administration providers from abroad.

Under certain circumstances private equity funds domiciled in Gibraltar can now use fund administration providers from abroad, according to regulations signed into law earlier this month. 

The move is being considered a nod to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive – an in the works pan-EU funds framework that will limit non-EU firms access to European investors.

Ahead of the Directive’s live date in 2013 a number of Caribbean funds are thinking of re-domiciling into an EU jurisdiction (such as Gibraltar) in order to obtain certain marketing advantages, according to Gibraltar-based law firm Hassans in a client memo. For those that do, being allowed to use their original fund administrator should make the migration to EU shores more seamless. 

The AIFM Directive provides onshore funds a pan-EU marketing passport, meaning the patchwork of national marketing rules could be bypassed for a more streamlined fundraising effort. 

Hassans partner James Lasry said in an interview that Gibraltar may prove popular with GPs because its rules allow funds to quickly enter the market ahead of receiving the necessary authorisation from central authorities. “No other European jurisdiction has this possibility any longer.”