In a recent communication published by the Financial Conduct
Authority ("FCA"), the FCA requested that UK Alternative
Investment Fund Managers ("AIFMs") seeking authorisation
or a variation of permission under the Alternative Investment Fund
Managers Directive, submit their application no later than 22
January 2014 in order to allow the FCA sufficient time to review
the application prior to the 22 July 2014 deadline, which marks the
end of the transitional period. Should AIFMs seeking authorisation
or registration be unable to meet this deadline, they are
encouraged to contact the FCA as soon as possible.
In order to manage an AIF, once authorised, AIFMs must have
finalised arrangements with a depositary. The FCA is, therefore,
strongly encouraging firms to consider their depositary
arrangements. Although the AIFM's application will be reviewed
by the FCA and authorisation granted without identifying it's
appointed depositary, it cannot start managing the AIF in question
until a month after the missing information is provided. The
FCA has published a useful guidance note in relation to the
information required from AIFMs regarding their depositary
arrangements which can be viewed on this link http://www.fca.org.uk/your-fca/documents/aifm-depositary-arrangements.
HM Treasury has subsequently issued an update stating that, if a
transitional AIFM's application is submitted to the FCA without
sufficient time for it to be determined by 22 July 2014, the AIFM
will, nevertheless, be able to continue managing AIFs until such
determination, so long as (i) an application has been submitted
prior to 22 July 2014 and (ii) the AIFM is compliant with the
relevant AIFMD requirements (which would include, where relevant,
the appointment of a depositary) from 22 July 2014, even if their
application has not been determined.
As the application deadline approaches, we are currently assisting
a number of firms which are in the process of applying for AIFM
authorisation, with their depositary requirements. These vary
from case to case, depending on the firm's requirements and the
respective location of their AIFs and target investors. Some
firms require only depositary "lite" services, while
others are subject to the full depositary requirements under the
AIFMD. We appreciate that the selection of a depositary is an
important part of the AIFM's application and it is vital that
the depositary is the right "fit" for the AIFM and its
operations.
Bedell has developed an efficient and cost-effective depositary
service to assist AIFMs with the requirements of the AIFMD and will
deliver bespoke services in a complementary and non-obtrusive
manner, to minimise the impact on the operations of the AIFM and
the AIF itself. Our depositary service offering has been developed
based on our experience and long standing relationships with
boutique private equity and real estate houses and some of the
world's largest financial institutions as well as our
experience from providing expert legal and fund administration
services to alternative investment fund managers for over 20 years.
Bedell can deliver depositary services from its London and Jersey
offices as a stand-alone service or as an integrated solution with
its existing corporate and fund administration offering.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.