London Investment Funds Forum 2025 – Key Takeaways

We were fortunate to be joined by Salik Ahmed, Associate in the Research Insights Team at Preqin, who shared some of the latest market trends impacting alternative asset classes. We also heard from Gina Sanchez, CEO of Chantico Global, who provided valuable insights on the current economic outlook, and from Dame Kelly Holmes, the highly decorated British athlete, as our keynote speaker.

Our panellists discussed a wide range of pertinent issues facing the industry, sharing their insights and experiences on topics ranging from navigating structures and jurisdictions to fundraising, retailisation and regulatory developments.

The following is a summary of some of the key discussion points of the day. If you have any questions on the topics raised or would like to continue the conversation in more depth, please do not hesitate to reach out to your usual Maples Group contact.

Exploring Private Markets – Legal and Strategic Insights

• In a poll of audience members at the forum, the majority were confident about the industry's growth trajectory given the 12 per cent year-on-year increase in fundraising seen in 2025, led by private equity. Panellists reported a strong demand from the Asia Pacific region for more innovative products, along with growing interest from Canada. Further afield, investment appetite is growing in newer markets like Latin America, India (using Mauritius structures), Turkey and the Middle East.
• The no-action letter published by the Securities and Exchange Commission¹ on general solicitation in March was described as a "game changer" by some speakers. The letter clarified the circumstances in which a high investment minimum, together with certain investor representations, can be considered sufficient verification of a purchaser's accredited investor status, potentially expanding the use of general solicitation in private capital fundraising.
• Competition for investor capital is a clear driver of innovation and that is expected to continue, fuelling an expansion of the scope of products on offer in the market and more tailoring to meet investor requirements.

Strategic Fund Launches – Navigating Structures and Jurisdictions

• Our audience members expressed a neutral outlook on capital raising and retention prospects for open ended hedge funds over the next 12 months, recognising there are fewer new tickets available than in the past. That said, investors are attracted to hedge funds for diversification reasons and by low correlation to other asset classes, so uncertainty in stock markets may drive further demand.
• There is a growing list of fund domiciles being favoured by open ended hedge funds, among them Cayman Islands, Delaware and Ireland. Certain institutional investors that used to question Cayman Islands as a fund domiciles have got more comfortable with it following the introduction of a more robust regime.
• Managers must deal with an escalating number of investor requests, often related to transparency, reporting and Environmental, Social, and Governance ("ESG") objectives and increasingly motivated by regulatory drivers. That requires an investment in operational infrastructure that can be challenging, but AI tools can help.
• Cayman Islands remains a leading jurisdiction for open ended fund formation. The once dominant classic master-feeder structure has become less popular in recent years, employed by only 18 percent of funds launched in 2024. Approximately 10 per cent of the funds launched in 2024 were set up as umbrella funds, which allow for the creation of multiple sub-funds within a single structure.

The Retailisation of Private and Public Markets – Opportunities and Legal Complexities

• The European Commission has identified that only 17 per cent of European household wealth is held through financial instruments, suggesting a great opportunity for funds to tap non-institutional investors to grow Assets Under Management ("AUM") and get capital out of bank accounts.
• Exchange Traded Funds ("ETFs") have seen rapid growth in Europe, with retail investors now accounting for around 30 per cent of total fund assets in Europe. Growth has been driven by several factors, including advancement of digital wealth and cheaper access making ETFs a wrapper of choice; the growth of DPM model portfolios; a wider range of ETFs to choose from; and innovation to meet investor demand. Some 70 per cent of European ETFs are now Irish domiciled.
• The US is significantly ahead of Europe in the retailisation of private markets. Individual investors have historically struggled to get access as a result of high minimums and other hurdles, but new access points like the Luxembourg UCI Part II² and ELTIF 2.0³ represent exciting opportunities. The focus now must be on the education of the investor base and product innovation.

Hot Topics for Investment Funds

• Continuation funds have been a noticeable trend in the recent tough exit environment, with more managers using them as a means to hold onto trophy assets for longer while offering a liquidity opportunity to LPs.
• The Central Bank of Ireland has recently published a proposed suite of reforms to its Alternative Investment Funds Rulebook⁴, designed to modernise and streamline the regulatory landscape. Among the key elements are a plan to remove the domestic loan origination regime, relax the rules around the use of Special Purpose Vehicle ("SPVs") and remove limitations on guaranteeing the obligations of third parties.
• Data from Cayman Islands shows three out of four funds continue to charge both management and incentive fees, with management fees now typically below 2 per cent but incentive fee rates continuing to hold around 20 per cent. Over three-quarters of funds launched in the Cayman Islands in 2024 had monthly or quarterly redemption cycles.
• Tokenisation offers new opportunities to streamline and automate access to funds for individual investors. Luxembourg has worked hard to facilitate tokenized funds and Franklin Templeton recently launched the first Luxembourg domiciled fully tokenised n Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities ("UCITS") SICAV⁵ product. Other jurisdictions are also introducing laws to make tokenisation easier.

Footnotes

1.SEC.gov | No Action, Interpretive and Exemptive Letters

2.A UCI ("Part II") fund – Luxembourg for Finance

3.ELTIF 2.0 – RTS Delegated Regulation Enters into Force – Maples Group

4.Regulatory Requirements and Guidance for AIFs | Central Bank of Ireland

5.A UCITS fund – Luxembourg for Finance

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.