Prescient Fund Services (Ireland) Limited, an independent provider of globally competitive and flexible outsourced management company, platform and fund administration services, has converted two of its fund platforms from PLCs (Public Limited Companies) to ICAVs (Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicles).
Prescient supports investment managers of Irish regulated and other traditional and alternative funds by providing the infrastructure and performing the key control functions that are required to help them to grow their businesses and meet their regulatory obligations.
The two umbrella platforms, one regulated as a UCITS and one regulated as a QIAIF (Qualified Investor Alternative Investment Fund), enable international investment managers to efficiently and cost-effectively launch and manage Irish regulated funds. There are currently over 30 sub-funds on the platforms.
The ICAV has a number of advantages over the PLC, in that it is specifically designed for investment funds and as such is exempt from those aspects of Irish company legislation that may not be as relevant for collective investment schemes. One benefit is that amendments to the fund documents can be efficiently implemented, subject to approval by the depositary, ensuring that the interests of investors continue to be protected. Furthermore, an ICAV structure is not subject to the risk spreading rules, unlike other corporate vehicles offered in Ireland, and therefore an AIF ICAV may be structured as a single asset fund under the AIFMD framework, enabling a broader range of strategies to be supported. Finally, the ICAV allows for the simplification of the financial statements, in that it is possible to prepare separate statements for each subfund. This ensures that investors in a single sub-fund of an umbrella with multiple sub-funds only receive accounts that are relevant to them and will reduce the costs and time spent by managers in compiling the information.
Rob Childs (pictured), Head of International at Prescient Fund Services Ireland, adds: “When Prescient first entered the Irish market over ten years ago, the PLC was the go-to structure for funds. In recent years the ICAV brand has proven to be a more effective and flexible structure, so these conversions will immediately benefit our clients and position us for further growth”.
The new ICAVs sit alongside Prescient’s other fund solutions which include a third ICAV platform as well as a Common Contractual Fund (CCF) platform, which is targeted at pension funds and other tax-exempt institutional investors
