Custom House launches umbrella Sicav for start-ups
A Malta-domiciled Sicav fund umbrella for start-up managers has been launched by Custom House Global Fund Services, the fund administration business of Equity Trust.
Nascent Fund Sicav will “provide an efficient and cost-effective first-stage solution for managers wishing to start their own new fund and establish a track record,” according to Custom House, which earlier this year launched a QROPS scheme in Malta.
The Sicav is aimed at managers with US$5m to US$10m of assets under management who are looking to establish a track record without the start-up costs of creating their fund structure.
Each sub fund will be legally separate from the others to avoid any “cross-collateral risk” and also allows sub funds to separate from the umbrella structure to create a stand-alone fund. Custom House said it was envisaged most managers would do this in two to three years.
Dermot Butler, chairman of Custom House, said: “The launch of Nascent comes in response to the growing investor interest towards smaller and early stage managers which often outperform bigger, more established counterparts.
“The market lacks a credible and cost-effective solution to support bright emerging managers who are having difficulty, in the present market environment, in raising seed capital from anywhere except their family and friends and therefore find themselves unable to launch funds with sufficient critical mass to operate economically in their first few years.
“The Nascent Fund provides exactly the platform of support that these managers need whilst they establish themselves and build their track records and assets under management.”