Asset Management and Investment Funds
About the Group
The Asset Management and Investment Funds Group at Matheson Ormsby Prentice comprises nine partners and 40 fund professionals in total. Our lawyers have legal and regulatory expertise in all aspects of Irish UCITS and non-UCITS investments funds, with specialised knowledge of UCITS III products including UCITS structured as ETFs. Our alternative investment funds arm is dedicated to hedge funds and alternative asset management, and our client portfolio includes six of Europe's ten largest hedge fund managers. Our practice also incorporates a regulatory risk management and compliance unit, and a specialist outsourcing group.
We act on behalf of clients representing approximately 22 per cent by net asset value of all Irish domiciled funds as at 30 June 2009. Our asset management and investment funds practice is ranked as a tier one practice group by Chambers Europe, the European Legal 500 and PLC 2010 and we were the first Irish law firm to receive the award of European Law Firm of the Year from The Hedge Fund Journal, reflecting the international recognition of our contribution to the European hedge fund sector.
Our reputation amongst industry professionals and our involvement with the development of the industry is reflected by the election of partner Michael Jackson to the position of chairman of the Irish Funds Industry Association (“IFIA”) and the IFSC Funds Group Legislative Committee 2009/2010. Our partners James Scanlon, Tara Doyle, Dualta Counihan and Joe Beashel are all active members of IFIA committees and sub-groups, specifically in the areas of legal and regulatory, alternative investments and valuations, marketing, Shariah compliance, trustee and transfer agency issues.
All of our partners are regular speakers at industry events and regular contributors to European consultations on the development of asset management and funds regulation. On the domestic front, submissions and contributions have been made by the Asset Management and Investment Funds Group on behalf of clients towards the development of the Financial Regulator’s policy in a number of areas, including multi-manager funds and structured UCITS using tailored derivatives at share class level. In terms of important recent Irish legislative developments, James Scanlon has assisted with the drafting of the Irish Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 which introduces new Irish provisions designed to facilitate the efficient redomiciliation of corporate funds to Ireland.
With our team of asset management legal and regulatory advisers working alongside Matheson Ormsby Prentice’s taxation, structured finance and commercial litigation departments, we offer a comprehensive service for clients and, as we are one of the few law firms in Ireland with a specialist derivatives practice, we have an unrivalled capacity to provide combined asset management, tax and derivatives advice to our clients.
Representative Experience
Representative experience of the Asset Management and Investment Funds Group includes advising on:
- Launch of a wide range of UCITS products including traditional long only equity, bond and money market funds; alternative and structured products; ETFs; UCITS employing eligible strategies including long/short (130/30) equity, credit, currency, interest rate, volatility strategies and eligible financial indices
- First Irish ETF intending to use derivatives to track indices
- First Irish domiciled pharmaceutical royalties funds
- First Irish domiciled US life assurance policies funds
- First Irish “China” fund, a mutual fund investing in Chinese A shares
- First Brazilian promoted Irish domiciled hedge fund
- Launch of third party manager platforms (UCITS and QIFs) for four separate global financial institutions
- Launch of liability driven investment funds
- Launch of an insurance linked investment fund
- Establishment of structured fund platforms
- Structuring of Shariah-compliant funds
- Launch of bank loan funds using section 110 subsidiaries for several large international investment managers, including a hybrid fund/CLO structure
- Launch of professional investor and qualifying investor hedge funds using a variety of strategies including arbitrage, macro, directional, event-driven, long/short, market neutral, directional and quantitative and permitting direct investment and investment in fund of funds and feeder fund structures
- Launch of property funds
- Launch of commodities funds
- Establishment of retail funds of hedge funds
- Structuring and launch of Irish common contractual funds for multinational groups seeking tax transparent asset pooling solutions
- Listing of Irish and non-Irish domiciled funds on the Irish Stock Exchange
- Establishment of investment management companies in Ireland
- Negotiation of contracts on behalf of a number of administrators, custodians and prime brokers
Matheson Ormsby Prentice’s Asset Management and Investment Funds Group is consistently at the forefront in developing new and innovative investment fund products for our clients. Our experience and funds expertise can assist you in structuring, establishing and distributing your investment funds.
Links To Recent Publications and Client Updates
For access to our recent publications and client updates, please click here.
Links to Asset Management and Investment Funds Brochures
For access to our practice brochures, please click on the links below:
Key Contacts
For further information please contact Michael Jackson, James Scanlon, Tara Doyle, Joe Beashel, Dualta Counihan, Barry Lynch, Anne-Marie Bohan, Shay Lydon or Elizabeth Grace.
What Others Say About Us
CHAMBERS AND PARTNERS
- Clients praise the team's “excellent subject-matter expertise, great strength in depth, and responsive, commercially oriented approach.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Europe 2010 - Clients say "the lawyers are flexible and commercially oriented – there’s nothing you can ask them that they can’t do.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Europe 2009 - Michael Jackson is highly regarded for UCITS funds, with sources commenting: "He doesn’t just work in the funds business – he’s helping to shape the future of it” and that “he answers all the questions we didn’t ask but should have.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Europe 2009 - Tara Doyle handles a large amount of asset management work, and is “extremely fast on her feet and provides thoughtful answers."
Investment Funds: Chambers Europe 2009 - Clients say that James Scanlon “keeps us aware of all the developments we need to know about.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Europe 2009 - This “proactive team offers exceptionally good service”. “The lawyers display a strong commercial awareness in all aspects of their dealings and are very good at making sure things close.”
Banking and Finance: Chambers Europe 2008 - Clients commended this expanding funds practice for “understanding the legal and business aspects of what you want to achieve and trying to find a practical solution.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Global 2008 - Michael Jackson is “strong technically, understands the business aspects of a deal very well and always looks for solutions,” according to clients. He is also “a good, straightforward person to deal with.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Global 2008 - Tara Doyle is “flexible and responsive, and if you have a problem she will come up with a solution.”
Capital Markets: Chambers Europe 2008 - James Scanlon is “responsive, commercial and easy to talk to - not full of legal jargon.”
Investment Funds: Chambers Global 2008
EUROPEAN LEGAL 500
- Matheson Ormsby Prentice is praised for the “excellent depth of its legal and regulatory knowledge”, with Michael Jackson singled out as “technically superb”, and Tara Doyle praised for her “excellent industry knowledge.”
Investment Funds: European Legal 500 2010 - The firm fields a team that has "good communication and response times" with Michael Jackson singled out as being "knowledgeable and on the ball". James Scanlon is also recommended as an "industry leader."
Investment Funds: European Legal 500 2009