INDOS Financial Limited (“Indos”), the UK independent depositary, has received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority to extend its Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) depositary permissions to become a full depositary. The move represents the first such authorisation of a non-bank entity in the UK since AIFMD was introduced in 2014.
The permissions build upon the firm’s successful depositary-lite business servicing non-EU funds as well as its UK private equity, real estate and debt fund business. In less than three years this business has grown to comprise 70 funds across 56 managers and $14bn of assets. The extended permissions will enable Indos to act for a broader range of UK domiciled funds such as the UK investment trust market much of which has traditionally been served by banking groups providing a bundled service of depositary, custody and fund administration, as well as funds which fall outside of the restrictions that apply to private equity and real estate depositaries.
Bill Prew, CEO of INDOS Financial, commented “As a specialist independent depositary, becoming a full depositary was a natural extension for the Indos business. Our growth to date highlights demand across the industry for depositary services that are independent from other service providers to the fund. We have responded to a clear gap in the UK alternative funds market for an independent depositary that has a full suite of regulatory permissions and the flexibility to act for a diverse range of funds.
Bill continued “We have already won our first full depositary mandate in the UK and expect several more to follow over the coming months. The timing of the authorisation also positions us to capitalise from depositary provider changes we expect to occur due to the AIFMD depositary derogation, whereby UK funds using non-UK depositaries will need to appoint a UK depositary, coming to an end in July 2017.”
Contacts for further information:
Bill Prew, CEO, INDOS Financial Limited +44 (0) 203 319 1590
Simon Rostron, Rostron Parry +44 (0) 7802 292 252
About INDOS Financial (www.indosgroup.com)
INDOS Financial specialises in providing independent AIFMD depositary services to alternative investment funds. INDOS was the first FCA authorised AIFMD Depositary in January 2014 and currently provides depositary services to over funds that have $14bn in assets. Clients include EU and non-EU managers managing a broad range of open and closed ended alternative investment fund strategies ranging from hedge funds, to private equity, real estate and other closed ended funds. INDOS has been named “Best Depositary Solution” in the HFM Service Awards for two consecutive years since the awards were first introduced in 2016.
