Two Luxembourg brand names in the alternative investments business are disappearing. Fund administration firm Pandomus and independent management company Pancura have been renamed under the single new brand of Pandoo.
The two companies were already part of the same holding but had been operating under different names to reflect the specific services they offer. Pandomus, founded in 2009, provides fund administration services, while Pancura, founded in 2013, is an independent alternative investment fund manager, both subject to direct supervision by the CSSF.
“When we pitch for a mandate, we pitch for both management and for fund administration. More and more of our clients mandate us for both functions, so then it is evident that it makes sense not to have two service providers under one roof with two names,” said Sven Rein, Partner or Managing Director at Pandoo Management.
Following last year’s review of the firm’s two-brand strategy, it was concluded to create a single brand, said Rein. The rebranding also reflects the firm growth in recent years. Pandoo Management now manages approximately six billion euro in alternative assets, mostly in real estate, having grown at a pace of about one billion per year in recent years.
Two pillars
“With the two names, we had been running successfully as a business and Pancura has really picked up in numbers, and assets under management,” said Rein. “After a couple of years, we asked ourselves: why do we have to have a two-brand strategy? We have clients who use Pandomus but who don’t know Pancura. And vice versa for Pancura, some clients don’t know Pandomus.”
The firm also noted that competitors such as IQ-EQ, Alter Domus and Hauck Aufhauser Lampe operate with a single brand for the range of services they offer, combining administrative services as well as third-party management company services. In the firm’s new legal constellation, Pancura has been renamed as Pandoo Management, while Pandomus has become Pandoo Administration.
‘Year of consolidation’
Asked about 2023, Rein said he expects that this year will be a year of consolidation for the industry. “We will see less growth of new products. The market has cooled down for the reasons you know: geopolitics, energy prices, interest rates. Investors are holding back, reflecting on what asset classes they would allocate their investments to. They are waiting for prices to come down.”
But the new year will not be without opportunities, Rein said. “I would expect that in the second quarter of that year, we will see more activities. We take the time to clean up the house a little bit because. There is a lot of backlog to be cleaned up, to take care of. So we take care of existing clients to make sure that they are receiving quality and, you know, the service they should receive.”
‘Inflow still strong‘
“It gives us time to take a breath, for the people, for our clients, and to stabilise everything and get ready for the next phase,” he said. “I’m positive about the future. Luxembourg has an excellent reputation and standing in the industry. The inflow on the investor side, on the institutional side, is still strong. That money needs to be let into new structures. Existing structures I expect will grow after consolidation.”
In December 2022, the firm facilitated the launch of two new Reserved Alternative Investment Funds, or Raifs. Data from the Luxembourg Business Register shows Pandoo launched the SCap Fine Dining Investments fund and the CirCap Funds SCA fund. Under the Pancura brand, it has launched a total of 13 Raifs since 2017.
“We will see new products coming up,” said Rein. ”The RAIF is just a perfect vehicle, used by our new and existing clients to launch new products. We are ready for that. In that context, I think it will be an interesting year. It will be challenging for everybody. Yes. But it has its upside as well.”