On
hedgeweek, 27/09/2013:
Malta remains a relatively
small European domicile. Combined net assets of Maltese funds at the end
of June 2012 totalled EUR10.3billion; up from EUR8.3billion in 2011 but
still way off more established jurisdictions like Luxembourg, whose
wholesale funds market has ballooned to EUR2.523trillion according to
its national regulator, the CSSF.
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| Special report available |
Malta, however, knows what its strengths are and continues to focus
on presenting itself as a viable option for hedge fund and private
equity managers. The number of Maltese funds is now up to 578 according
to the island’s promoter, FinanceMalta, of which 460 are Professional
Investor Funds (PIFs). Only 64 registered funds are UCITS; becoming a
wholesale market is not a realistic aim.
Maintaining a niche is critical to Malta’s success. Indeed, one of
the net results of Europe’s recent implement of the AIFM Directive is to
level the playing field as far as funds are concerned, as all regulated
funds, whatever the domicile, will now fall under the AIFMD model.
James Farrugia, Senior Associate at law firm Ganado Advocates thinks
that under the Directive, Malta will be well placed to grow its fund
manager numbers going forward: “On the fund side, domiciles are becoming
similar. Competitive differences are...
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