On a recent podcast, JTC’s Head of Specialty Administration and General Counsel USA, outlined the benefits of fund administration for EB-5 investors, Regional Centers, and the program as a whole.
JTC’s Jill Jones appeared as a guest on Episode 8 of Greenberg Traurig LLP’s Immigration Insights series, AKA “Big Law Redefined.” In the episode, “Decoding the RIA: The Essential Role of Fund Administrators in EB-5 Regional Center Offerings,” Jill and host Kate Kalmykov discussed what EB-5 fund administration looked like before the passage of the EB-5 Reform and Integrity Act of 2022 (RIA).
“There are certain industries that have little to no regulation, but they involve holding money belonging to someone else,” said Jones, explaining why JTC led the push for best practices to provide greater transparency for EB-5 investors.
Jones went over what fund administrators actually do for Regional Centers in the post-RIA world and the benefits an experienced fund administrator can provide for both investors and Regional Centers. She also offered some advice for those seeking a fund administrator for an EB-5 project.
“First and foremost, they should be looking for a fund administrator who understands the complexity of having securities law components layered in with immigration law components,” said Jones, who stressed the importance of experience in the specifics of EB-5.
“Understanding when a disbursement or deployment of funds is proper is different from the average securities offering,” she said, explaining the role of a cosignatory and how JTC works to add value from the beginning of its relationship with the project.
The episode also covered how the RIA helped combat fraud in the industry, why the RIA’s integrity measures are important for the pursuit of a permanent Regional Center program, and the value of EB-5 in creating jobs and bringing investment to American communities.
“We’ve got to do all the right things to make sure this program can be made permanent,” said Jones. “It really does good things for the country, and we can’t lose sight of that.”
