Crestbridge in Luxembourg will act as the Manager for the first platform to be launched under Luxembourg’s recently introduced Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (RAIF) regime.
Following the approval of the RAIF law in July this year, the launch of the first RAIF platform is expected to prove attractive for a broad range of asset classes, including private equity, real estate and hedge funds, and offers non-EU and EU managers a fast, cost-effective, simple and robust way to access European investor capital.
Under the new RAIF regime, the regulatory focus lies with the Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) rather than each individual fund requiring regulatory approval. This means that non-EU managers can quickly set up and bring to market funds under the supervision of the pre-authorised manager.
Whilst Crestbridge will act as manager for this first Luxembourg RAIF platform, legal advice was provided by Charles Russell Speechlys, with administration and depositary services provided by TMF and ING.
Commenting on the new platform, Daniela Klásen-Martin, Managing Director, Country Head Crestbridge Luxembourg, said: “Being the first to market with a new RAIF platform is very exciting and reflects our innovative approach to providing holistic fund management solutions in Luxembourg, through our existing and highly successful ManCo.”
“We consider the RAIF to be a very versatile product for Luxembourg. Through the platform, we are essentially able to offer a ‘plug and play’ approach and we expect that to be highly attractive to managers, including those in the US and Asia, who want a straightforward means of accessing the European market quickly and in a well-regulated AIFMD-compliant environment.”
Crestbridge has a strong track record of being at the cutting edge of solutions for alternative investment fund managers. It was one of the first to establish a third party AIFM in Luxembourg three years ago. Meanwhile, in November 2015 Crestbridge became one of the first in Jersey to be granted a ManCo licence from the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JFSC), enabling it to offer manager facilities in a non-EU environment.