Ireland

Luxembourg should take a page from Ireland’s playbook and deepen its relationship with the United States. The European Union is gradually eroding the regulatory flexibility and pragmatism that once enabled Luxembourg to attract international investors and dominate the fund industry.

Ireland’s decision not to introduce its own version of Luxembourg’s highly successful Reserved Alternative Investment Fund (Raif) signals a cautious approach in the global race for private market leadership and reflects concerns over potential problems with liquidity and valuations in this market.

Luxembourg’s securitisation community is up in arms over watching competitor Ireland retain its role of EU leader in financial vehicle corporations and in series, despite optimism just last year over this country’s still-shiny securitisation law updated last year. The Irish implementation included provisions giving companies tax minimisation options that they can’t yet get under Luxembourg law.

Ireland has cemented itself as the biggest international ETF domicile – leaving challengers such as Luxembourg having to play catch up. Some Dublin-based fund specialists, however, believe that Luxembourg is not entirely left without options.

Apex Group on Monday said it plans to acquire the Irish depositary business of Bank of America Custodial Services (Ireland) Limited, also known as Bacsil, through European Depositary Bank, one of its Luxembourg-based subsidiaries.

Bacsil is a depositary solution for onshore and offshore funds servicing a multitude of blue-chip clients consisting of Ucits, alternative investment funds and offshore depo-lite fund structures, across a wide range of strategies. Based in Dublin, the Bacsil business provides depositary services to client assets of 71.4 billion dollars.

Fundrock, one of Europe’s largest third-party management companies with a significant presence in Luxembourg, on Monday said it has been appointed by Royal London Asset Management Funds plc, also known as RLAM, to provide management and distribution services for its Irish fund range.

Nearly nine years after the introduction of a Luxembourg fund vehicle known as the SCSp, allowing the alternative investment fund industry to register special limited partnerships, competing financial centre Ireland has finally introduced its own version, enabling it to finally provide direct competition with the Grand Duchy in this area.