AIFMD and UCITS Management Company Solutions

AIFs are Alternative Investment Funds and typically include hedge funds, private equity, private debt, venture capital and real estate funds.
Ireland is a key domicile for AIFs as well as a service provider base for AIFs domiciled in other countries.

Investment Managers from around the world (including the US, UK, Switzerland etc.) use Ireland as a domicile and Waystone is a leading provider in establishing AIFs in Ireland and in other European countries.

They market the fund to asset owners/investors such as Insurance Companies, Pension firms, banks etc.

They are used to provide funding to the real economy and to give investors the ability to get exposure to investment opportunities and financial markets.

Retail investors cannot invest in AIFs as they are considered too complex for the direct retail market.

Investing in AIFs offers several potential advantages, including access to alternative asset classes, diversification benefits, potentially higher returns, and exposure to specialized investment strategies. AIFs can provide investors with opportunities beyond traditional investments such as stocks and bonds.

AIFs can encompass various types and strategies, including hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, infrastructure funds, venture capital funds, and commodity funds, among others. Each type of AIF has its own investment focus, risk profile, and regulatory considerations.

QIAIFs are Qualifying AIFs and are the main category for AIFs in Ireland under the Central Bank of Ireland rules. They are for qualifying investors such as institutional investors.

RIAIFs are Retail Investor AIFs under CBI rules and are a hybrid between QIAIFs and UCITS. There are relatively few in the market.

Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) are investment funds that are tightly regulated and can be marketed to all investor types, both retail and institutional in Ireland, across the EU, and globally. They have strict rules and a high level of investor protection in terms of what asset types can be included and on portfolio composition and diversification. They typically allow investors to buy and sell on a daily basis and hold liquid assets such as equities, money market instruments, or fixed income.

Investment Managers from around the world (such as the US, UK, Switzerland etc.) use Ireland as a domicile for UCITS and Waystone is a leading provider in establishing UCITS.

UCITS are used to provide retail investors with an opportunity to invest and deploy their savings/pensions and generate a return based on financial markets. This can be investors investing directly into the fund or via their advisor, bank, pension plan etc.

AIFMD reporting refers to the obligations under the AIFM Directive to monitor and prevent systemic risk and market disruptions.

We are fully licensed in both Ireland and Luxembourg and have passported our services into France, Spain and Cayman.

Our Alternative Investment Management Company has dedicated teams across Europe that manage the economic substance requirements under AIFMD, including risk management, passporting procedures, and regulatory oversight.

The main benefits of UCITS and AIFMD fund platform solutions include:

• Rapid speed to market: a hosted solution means speed to market and access to a robust network of key service providers.
• Individual brand retention: sub fund managers retain their own branding.
• Legal separation and protection: each sub fund is legally separated and thereby protected from bankruptcy of other sub funds within the platform.
• Comprehensive platform management: our platform management fee includes all key service providers and AIFMD services including AIFM/management company, administrator, depositary (fiduciary oversight), auditor, directors, risk and regulatory AIFMD reporting, company secretary, KIID/ KID production and hosting and launch coordination.
• Streamlined cost management: we have taken on all these expenses directly and can pass on a single line-item cost to sub funds for all of the above – by limiting fees to a maximum, a manager can manage their total expense ratio with confidence.