As a fund domicile, Ireland’s reputation continues to grow.
There are currently 8,689 funds domiciled in the country with net asset values (NAVs) totalling €3.6 trillion, up from €2.4 trillion in 2018. [i] Conscious of Ireland’s increasingly pivotal role in the asset management ecosystem, JTC Fund Solutions (Ireland) Limited obtained their regulatory approval for a fund administration license in August 2022.
Graham Kennedy, CEO – JTC Fund Solutions (Ireland) Limited, and John Collins, Senior Director – Fund Services, explain the drivers behind this decision, and how it complements the Group’s existing suite of services.
- Please explain why JTC Group has obtained a fund administration license in Ireland
Graham Kennedy (GK): JTC Group recognises that Ireland is a critically important domicile for both European and global funds. With €2.8 trillion of UCITS funds and €800 billion of AIFs[ii] currently being administered in Ireland, it is one of the leading centres for fund administration and middle and back office services. By establishing JTC Fund Solutions (Ireland) Limited, we are able to offer a comprehensive range of fund administration services to local and international clients, regardless of their domicile or client jurisdiction.
- Please give an overview detailing your new service offering
GK: JTC Fund Solutions (Ireland) Limited will support alternative investment funds – namely those offering both open ended and closed ended strategies. Our offering covers hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity, private debt, infrastructure, property funds, venture capital and real assets. Our services include fund accounting, transfer agency, anti-money laundering (AML), FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) and CRS (Common Reporting Standard) support, and provide help to those clients who are preparing their fund financials.
- How does this fund administration business complement your existing offering?
John Collins (JC): JTC offers a wide gamut of services, and these are complemented by our Irish fund administration arm. Our existing services include Ballybunion, an AIFM (Alternative Investment Fund Management) ManCo; INDOS Financial, a depositary; and JTC Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited, which provides corporate services solutions. Managers can leverage these services independently of each other or as part of a bundled offering. Despite having only recently launched our fund administration business, the response from the fund management community has been resoundingly positive.
- What differentiates JTC from some of its peers?
JC: JTC utilises market-leading technology across its fund services offering globally. This is a highly effective, flexible and integrated technology solution that can meet current and anticipated client and investor needs. In utilising a single technology solution across our various offices, we can ensure that our clients enjoy a familiar/an identical experience regardless of their location(s) where they engage/contract with JTC as a service provider.
In line with JTC’s approach globally, we provide comprehensive solutions to meet our clients’ needs, through knowledge share and intellectual know how. We have in situ highly experienced leaders covering all core service lines and our Irish teams are agile, giving them the ability to handle complex mandates with no outsourcing or functionalisation. We place significant importance on a partnership-led approach and our senior management teams are actively involved in the client relationship, ensuring that all aspects of our solutions are delivered with the utmost excellence.
- What trends are you seeing in the market right now?
GK: Outsourcing by managers to fund administrators is certainly accelerating. This is because managers are running increasingly complex fund strategies, while others are embracing diversification. This is when a manager branches out from their traditional investment strategy into something new for return, risk and investor diversification purposes. For instance, we are seeing more hedge funds launch private markets-focused funds, and vice versa. Managers are therefore turning to service providers with in-depth expertise to help them with the operational requirements which these new strategies entail. It is vital that managers only work with providers who are capable of offering multi-asset class support.
- Why Ireland?
JC: Ireland is an attractive fund jurisdiction and domicile. Firstly, its deep pool of talent and high-calibre service providers – including fund administrators, custodians, accountants, lawyers and ManCos – is a compelling sell for prospective fund managers. Together firms are able to access reinsurance, cross-border insurance and specialist finance, such as aviation leasing and asset financing. In addition to being an English-speaking jurisdiction, Ireland is a highly tax efficient market, which makes it very attractive to foreign investors. We anticipate that Ireland will continue to grow as a fund domicile of choice.
[i] Irish Funds – Irish Domiciled Funds | Irish Funds Industry Association | International Investments
[ii] Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) EFAMA – 230221 EFAMA Fact Sheet (December 2022).pdf
