Fri, Mar 29, 2024
A A A
Welcome Guest
Free Trial RSS pod
Get FREE trial access to our award winning publications
Industry Updates

British Virgin Islands to introduce new category of investment manager license for smaller hedge funds

Wednesday, December 05, 2012
Opalesque Industry Update: Ogier British Virgin Islands (BVI) announced today that the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC), the jurisdiction’s financial regulator, has published guidelines for a new type of investment management licensing regime targeting non-institutional investment managers of small and mid-sized investment funds.

The Investment Business (Approved Managers) Regulations, 2012 – known as the Approved Managers Regulations – come into force on 10 December 2012. The regime will provide eligible investment managers of BVI funds opting to also domicile their investment management vehicles in the jurisdiction with a streamlined regulatory framework, acknowledging both the sophistication of investing into such funds and the lower systemic risk posed by these funds to the global financial system.

“We see the Approved Managers Regulations as particularly appealing to start-ups or smaller investment managers that want to set up and manage funds in the most efficient and effective way possible, given their size and investor base,” said Ogier BVI Corporate and Investment Funds Partner, Simon Schilder, who has also been actively involved in the private sector consultations for these new regulations. “We believe the new regime will be an appealing product for eligible investment managers and will represent a cost effective option which is, at the same time, in tune with current regulatory requirements and international standards for the oversight of investment managers.”

Growth Opportunities for Small Hedge Funds

Recent analyses show the small hedge fund market as growing, despite difficulties these funds typically face in securing capital. A report by Barclays Capital identified a trend beginning in 2011 towards an increasing share of allocations going to funds with less than $1 billion in assets. The Barclays research shows this trend will continue throughout 2012. The research also reported investors indicating a 77-percentage point tilt in favor of increasing allocations to small funds, compared with a 10-percentage point tilt toward large funds (with assets under management of $5 billion).

Key Requirements for Eligibility Under the Approved Managers Regulations

Among the requirements for eligibility under the Approved Managers Regulations are for the investment manager to:

  • Be a BVI company or limited partnership;
  • Act as investment manager or advisor to either a BVI licensed private or professional fund; a closed-ended fund domiciled in the BVI with characteristics substantially similar to either a BVI licensed private or professional fund; or a foreign fund investing substantially all of its assets in a BVI domiciled fund;
  • Satisfy the FSC’s fit and proper test;
  • Maintain, in the case of open-ended funds, aggregate assets under management of US$400 million and, in the case of closed-ended funds, aggregate capital commitments of US$1 billion; and
  • File an application for approval not less than seven days prior to the intended commencement of business.

A full briefing of all the provisions of the AMR is available via the following link: http://www.ogier.com/Publications/library/Pages/InvestmentBusiness(ApprovedManagers)Regulations,2012.aspx

What do you think?

   Use "anonymous" as my name    |   Alert me via email on new comments   |   
Previous Opalesque Exclusives                                  
Previous Other Voices                                               
Access Alternative Market Briefing

 



  • Top Forwarded
  • Top Tracked
  • Top Searched
  1. KKR raises $6.4bn for the largest pan-Asia infrastructure fund[more]

    Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: The New York-based global investment firm KKR has raised a record $6.4bn for its second Asia-focused infrastructure fund, underlining investors' continued appetite for private markets. According to a media release from the alternative assets manager, the figure top

  2. Bucking the trend, top hedge fund makes plans for a second SPAC[more]

    From Institutional Investor: SPACs aren't dead. At least not to the folks at Cormorant Asset Management. The life sciences firm, whose hedge fund topped its peers in 2023, is confident it will match the success of its first blank-check company. Last week, the life sciences and biopharma speciali

  3. Benefit Street Partners closes fifth fund on $4.7 billion[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York: Benefit Street Partners has closed its fifth flagship direct lending vehicle, BSP Debt Fund V, with $4.7 billion of investable capital across the strategy. Benefit Street invests primarily in privately originated, floating rate, senior secured loans. The fun

  4. 4 hedge fund themes that are working in 2024[more]

    From The Street: A poor earnings report from Tesla (TSLA) has not hurt the indexes on Thursday. The decline in Tesla stock, which is losing its position in the Magnificent Seven pantheon, is more than offset by strong earnings from IBM (IBM) and ServiceNow (NOW) . In addition, the much higher-t

  5. Opalesque Exclusive: A global macro fund eyes opportunities in bonds[more]

    Bailey McCann, Opalesque New York for New Managers: Munich-based ThirdYear Capital rebounded in 2023, following a tough year for global macro. The firm's flagship ART Global Macro strategy finished the year up 1