Rebecca Palmer
Director, ESG
Rebecca Palmer is an independent professional director at Waystone and is based in the Cayman Islands. Rebecca specialises in the provision of services to a comprehensive variety of investment vehicles such as hedge funds, structured products and private equity funds. Rebecca has extensive experience covering a wide range of fund structures and a variety of strategies covering multiple jurisdictions.
A chartered accountant, Rebecca joined Waystone from KPMG where she was an audit director in the asset management practice, overseeing Cayman funds for a variety of global managers, ranging from new launches to established multibillion-dollar managers. Amongst her portfolio were a trillion-dollar asset manager, where she was responsible for the Cayman fund of funds portfolio, a $300 billion private equity manager, a $90 billion fixed income manager and a variety of other hedge fund managers. Rebecca was also part of the emerging manager platform, working closely with managers with different strategies looking to launch Cayman funds.
Rebecca was on the editorial board of a sustainable investing report that has been widely quoted in the global press and she has participated in various speaking engagements.
Rebecca is on the education committee of 100 Women in Finance. She holds a Master of Arts in International Relations and a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and International Relations from Reading University, UK. She has completed the Masterclass in Private Equity at London Business School and the Women in Leadership program at SAID Business School, University of Oxford. Rebecca is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales and is a member of the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants. She is currently studying for the CFA’s ESG certificate.
Skills and experience
- Hedge funds
- Fixed income funds
- Private equity funds
- Private debt funds
- Fund of funds
- Distressed situations
- Special Purpose Vehicles
- Partnerships
- Commodity pools
- Master’s degree in International Relations – University of Reading
- Bachelor’s degree in Politics and International Relations – University of Reading
- Masterclass in Private Equity – London Business School
- Women in Leadership Program – SAID Business School,
- University of Oxford
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (FCA)
- Member of the Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants (CIIPA)
- Served fund-of-fund structures pursuing a multi-manager strategy and investing in portfolio funds primarily focused on private equity and real estate, sponsored by a global asset manager with AUM in excess of a trillion dollars.
- Served closed-ended private investment fund structures sponsored by an independent investment adviser focusing on private equity in the US with excess of $300 billion assets under management.
- Served fixed income funds focusing on emerging market credit, sponsored by an asset manager with excess of $90 billion assets under management.
- Served equity long/short funds sponsored by investment managers based in Brazil, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, the UK and the US, with AUM’s varying from $5 million to $13 billion.
- Served a fund structure for a family office, pursuing an equity and multi-manager strategy, investing in portfolio funds primarily focused on hedge, managed by a global asset manager with AUM of $2 billion.
- Served hedge fund structures and a managed account platform employing systematic and derivative strategies.
- Served commodity funds, inclusive of soft and hard commodities, managed by asset managers based in the EU and the US.
- Served multiple structures specialising in credit and opportunistic investments, including financing and restructuring solutions.
- Served funds trading in debt and equity securities in the healthcare/biotech sector.
- Served Segregated Portfolio Companies with multiple segregated portfolios each with a different investment objective and/or target investor base.
- Served hedge fund structures investing in frontier markets.
- Served special purpose vehicles established for the purpose of debt issuances and aircraft leasing.
- Advising emerging managers through the launch process and providing introductions to service providers.
- Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants England and Wales
- Cayman Islands Institute of Professional Accountants
- 100 Women in Finance (Cayman), Board member, Education Committee
- AIMA
- Cayman Islands Alternative Investment Summit panel chair, topic: Sustainable Returns for a Sustainable Future
- AIMA Webinar panelist, topic: Sustainable Investing – Fast Forwarding Its Evolution
- CAIA Webinar panelist, topic: Sustainable Investing – Fast Forwarding Its Evolution
- 100 Woman in Finance panelist, topic: Career Advice I Wish I had at 25, and Advice I’d Give My Future Self
- NextGen Cayman Inspire, panelist: Perspectives in Global Mobility
- AIMA/KPMG presenter – Responsible Investing
- ICAEW presenter – What’s next?
- KPMG, Cayman Islands, Audit Director 2015-2020
- PwC, Cayman Islands, Senior Manager 2011-2020
- BDO, Cayman Islands, Manager, 2010-2011
- BDO, London, Manager 2008-2010
- BDO, New York, Real Estate Funds, 2007-2008
- BDO, London, Corporate Finance Executive, 2006-2007
- BDO, London, Audit Trainee/Senior, 2003-2006
- Assistant Language Teacher, Japan, 2002-2003
