re-domicile your fund onshore: take the road to luxembourg re ... - Alfi

e-domiciliation
re-domicile your fund onshore:
take the road to luxembourg
The advantages offered
by Luxembourg makes it
the domicile of choice for
your investment funds
There are many competitive advantages to be
achieved by domiciling funds in the right country,
including but not limited to reputation, tax
efficiency, cost competitiveness, the availability of
an experienced workforce and, most importantly,
a business oriented regulatory environment.
One of the key factors in Luxembourg’s success
as a domicile of choice lies in its history: Luxembourg
was the first EU member state to transpose
the 1985 UCITS directive into national law, and
it was the first again to implement UCITS IV
directive in 2010, securing its status as the leading
cross-border fund distribution hub in Europe.
That lead continues today, with Luxembourg
domiciled funds distributed in over 50 countries
worldwide and with over 70% of foreign funds
distributed in Hong Kong and Japan originating
in Luxembourg.
Nowhere in the world can be found a greater
concentration of professional expertise and
focus around the Fund industry in a business
environment so conducive to its development.

not only UCITS...
Luxembourg is also
a leading centre for
alternative investment
funds
Luxembourg has always been a pioneer in
creating a well-adapted legal framework for
UCITS, alternative UCITS and non-UCITS
funds. This is reflected in the country’s highly
diversified product offering, ranging from equity,
bond, money market and exchange traded funds
to more complex alternative investment vehicles
including private equity funds, venture capital
funds, real estate investment funds, hedge funds
and funds of hedge funds.
Alternative investment funds may take several
legal forms, amongst which the specialised
investment fund (“SIF”) is the most widely used.
The SIF is a highly flexible investment structure
reserved for well informed and institutional
investors. Promoters have the choice between
contractual or different corporate forms, they
have the possibility to create compartments
(with strict segregation of assets and liabilities
between compartments), to have a variable
or fixed share capital and to provide for tailor
made solutions for redemption of shares,
repayments and distribution of dividends.
The SIF is from a regulatory and reporting
perspective, a highly adaptable vehicle.
And of course the SIF benefits from the wealth
of expertise and specific techniques developed
to serve the industry as a whole, co-management,
pooling, cross-investment to make it as
operationally efficient as it is economically.
Luxembourg’s SIF offering has grown rapidly
in recent years and now numbers over
1,400 vehicles, launched since its inception
in February 2007.
In light of the implementation of the AIFM
Directive, the SIF law has been modernised.
Breakdown in % by net assets
Breakdown in % by Luxembourg fund type
9,6%
11,4%
79%
36%
49%
15%
UCITS
Non UCITS excl. SIFs
SIFs
Source CSSF as per December 2011
Promoters of Luxembourg investment funds
are able to create diversified products using
sophisticated techniques, some of which
are unique to Luxembourg structures, e.g.
pooling structures for all types of investment
funds. UCITS and non-UCITS funds can
be tailored to the needs of specific investor
groups, ensuring Luxembourg’s place as both
an institutional and a retail fund centre.
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1. why choose luxembourg as your product hub?
All of the industry’s major
promoters and service
providers are based in
Luxembourg
over 700 promoters from a variety of
backgrounds; the top 20 account for over
60% of the Luxembourg market
over 100 fund administrators and more
than 60 custodians
Luxembourg’s success is underpinned by
three key areas:
economic fundamentals
industry standing
products
Economic fundamentals
Political stability
Tax efficient solutions
Highly skilled & multilingual
workforce
Industry standing
Business-friendly environment
Pragmatic regulatory regime
Sound investor protection
Open dialogue with CSSF
Products
Highly diversified offerings for
retail and institutional investors
Efficient and experienced UCITS
Management Companies –
also AIFM ready
Economic fundamentals
Luxembourg is a stable, politically neutral
financial centre with superior infrastructure
and efficient tax solutions with low regulatory
and country risk. The country manages one
of the world’s lowest debt-to-GDP ratios.
With its central geographical position,
Luxembourg’s highly skilled and multilingual
workforce is further strengthened
by personnel from UK, Ireland, Belgium,
France, Germany and many other countries
in a thriving and dynamic expatriate
community. In addition to its rich match of
skills this also offers a pool of experience
when working with comparative business
practices, and facilitates a greater understanding
of business transitioning to the
Grand-Duchy.
Luxembourg’s favourable VAT rate of 15%
combined with one of the most attractive
corporate tax rates in Europe makes it a
more than viable option for promoters and
fund service providers.
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Industry standing
Luxembourg offers a business-friendly
environment.
The technology and expertise supporting the
Luxembourg fund industry constantly evolve
to accommodate new products and techniques,
including pooling, anti-dilution mechanisms as
well as innovative outsourcing arrangements.
Luxembourg’s comprehensive risk management
framework included in advance
UCITS IV requirements.
Listing funds on the Luxembourg Stock
Exchange is a straightforward process, with
419 Luxembourg entities currently listed
(as of December 2011).
Outsourced services include assistance with
cross-border fund registration services and
associated services. Luxembourg is emerging
as the centre for the outsourcing of foreign
tax certifications for a multitude of Irish, UK
and French domiciled funds. It furthermore
offers prime transfer agency services to many
foreign domiciled products. This will be also
a major advantage for the full implementation
of pass-porting provisions as foreseen by
the AIFM directive.
The unrivalled familiarity with distribution
worldwide will be of key assistance as the
phases of AIFMD come to fruition in
assisting Promoters and Investment Managers
to navigate through the co-existence of
Passport and Private Placement Regimes, and
make that all important link to how retail
distribution of Alternative Products, where
allowed by National Law can be articulated
from a central hub.
The Luxembourg Stock Exchange has a long
tradition in facilitating the listing of all types
of securities, frequently leading innovation in
this field and opening the way for institutional
investment in an asset class where
listing is a pre-requisite.
Products
Luxembourg has established itself as a
market leader in product innovation for
UCITS and non-UCITS.
Luxembourg legislation offers an array of
investment vehicles, ranging from highly
regulated UCITS and more lightly regulated
SICARs and SIFs to SOPARFIs and securitisation
vehicles.
Luxembourg recognizes the diversity of Legal
structures world wide and is probably unique
in the world in embracing within its legal
system concepts from different legal “cultures”.
In this way the subtleties of the Limited
Partnership and the Trust structure well known
in the Anglo-Saxon world are to be added
alongside their already existing equivalents
drawn from Continental European tradition.
In December 2011, there were 1,374 SIFs,
273 SICARs (December 2011) and
numerous securitization vehicles, supervised
and non-supervised, domiciled in Luxembourg.
Exchange Traded Funds are generally smaller
structures, but larger market capitalisations
result in a more than 30% market share in
terms of assets.
Status as an international platform for the
distribution of cross-border funds means that
Luxembourg-domiciled funds are more
readily accepted by financial regulators in
other parts of the world, especially Asia,
Latin America and the Middle East.
Over the last years, numerous Management
Companies were set up in Luxembourg
bringing the necessary substance to monitor
risk and delegated activities. Those Management
Companies will be the corner stone of
the AIFM implementation and success for
the future.
4

2. re-domiciliation to luxembourg
... a well rehearsed process
Luxembourg offers a simple, straightforward
process for the re-domiciliation of investment
funds. Re-domiciliation is the process whereby
a fund migrates from one jurisdiction to
another.
All types of investment vehicle can be re-domiciled
– including trusts, which can be merged
into Luxembourg-domiciled structures even
though they are not legal persons.
During the past 5 years, over 540 fund
structures totaling approximately 140 billion
Euros in Assets under Management have been
redomiciled to Luxembourg from both offshore
and European jurisdictions.
a) The choice of structure
is yours
Luxembourg offers a broad range of investment
structures, appropriate to different investor
profiles and providing fund promoters with an
onshore alternative to consider when deciding
to relocate a fund. In addition, Luxembourg
has an extensive network of tax treaties, which
creates a competitive tax and corporate environment
compared with other jurisdictions.
A wide variety of regulated investment structures
are available in Luxembourg, with the
SIF and UCITS being the most common.
The Specialised Investment Fund (“SIF”) is
a particularly attractive vehicle reserved for
sophisticated investors. Highly flexible in
terms of eligible assets (hedge funds, real
estate funds, funds of funds, private equity
funds, etc), SIFs are subject to authorisation
and supervision by the Commission de
Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the
“CSSF”). A SIF is not under any obligation
to calculate and publish the asset value of its
shares or units on a regular basis. The annual
tax duty, or taxe d’abonnement, is 0.01% of
net assets.
Undertakings for Collective Investments in
Transferable Securities (“UCITS”) offer retail
and institutional investors alike the advantage
of a European passport for cross-border
distribution and investor protection through
the supervision of the CSSF. A UCITS can be
incorporated with a separate legal personality
with variable or fixed share capital
(SICAV or SICAF), or it can be structured in
contractual form as a fonds commun de
placement (“FCP”). It may have exposure on
long / short equity and other assets, as well
as in exchange-traded derivatives, OTC
derivatives, commodities, hedge funds indices
and other asset classes. The annual tax duty,
or taxe d’abonnement, is 0.05% of net assets
(reduced to 0.01% for sub/funds or classes
dedicated to institutional investors), subject
to some exemptions.
b) How to relocate
Luxembourg regulation offers various options
enabling foreign companies and funds to
relocate and benefit from a regulated environment.
The most common are:
1. transfer of the registered office to
Luxembourg;
2. merger with a Luxembourg fund or investment
company (a Luxembourg fund or
investment company are both referred to in
what follows as the “Luxembourg entity”);
or
3. the contribution by the offshore fund of all
assets and liabilities to a Luxembourg entity.
5

1. Transfer of registered
offices
Other financial marketplaces may have recently
amended their regulations to include similar
provisions, but the concept of the continuity
of legal personalities, provided for in the Law
of 10 th August 1915 on commercial companies
as amended, is particularly well established
in Luxembourg, underpinning its place as a
market leader for re-domiciliation.
Any type of company or fund can transfer
its registered office or its main place of
management to Luxembourg and become a
Luxembourg entity.
The legal personality, in the case of an
investment company, can be maintained,
provided that the law of the home country
authorises the transfer without its
discontinuation.
Corporate decisions must be taken by the
board and/or shareholders in both the
home country and Luxembourg.
The constitutional documents must be
amended to comply with Luxembourg law.
The CSSF reviews and approves all corporate
and investment documents.
2. Cross-border merger
Under this arrangement, the offshore fund
is merged into a Luxembourg investment
company against the issuance of shares or
units to the shareholders of the offshore fund,
which is then dissolved.
Subject to specific conditions and procedures,
the merger results in the “universal transfer”
of assets and liabilities, i.e. all assets and
liabilities of the offshore fund are automatically
transferred to the Luxembourg investment
company without any formalities
(except as regards property and intellectual
property rights).
The terms of the merger and the method
used to calculate the ratio for the share
exchange are controlled by an auditor.
Corporate decisions must be taken by the
board and/or shareholders in both the
offshore jurisdiction and Luxembourg.
The constitutional documents of the Luxembourg
investment company are amended.
CSSF reviews and approves all corporate
and investment documents.
UCITS IV directive has introduced a framework
which facilitates cross-border merger
and domestic merger of UCITS funds.
3. The contribution in kind
of all assets and liabilities
The existing offshore fund contributes all its
assets and liabilities to a Luxembourg entity
against shares of the Luxembourg entity and is
then wound up. On liquidation, the shares of the
Luxembourg entity are distributed to the investors.
In the case of funds incorporated as investment
companies, the transfer of the assets and
liabilities may, subject to specific conditions
and procedures, benefit from the effects of the
“universal transfer” referred to above, in
sub-section 2 on cross-border mergers.
In the case of funds with no legal personality
or investment companies unable to apply the
universal transfer procedure, the assignment
of the assets and liabilities is on a case-bycase
basis, in accordance with applicable law.
The net value of the contributed assets must
be confirmed by an auditor.
Corporate decisions must be taken by the
board and/or shareholders in both the
offshore country and Luxembourg.
The constitutional documents of the Luxembourg
entity are amended.
CSSF verifies the compliance of the contributed
assets with investment policy and
approves corporate documents.
In addition to those three options, another way
for an offshore fund to relocate and to take
advantage of a regulated environment is to set
up a master-feeder structure. Up to the entry
into force of the UCITS IV directive, this
possibility was available to SIF structures only.
Since July 2011, UCITS funds can also benefit
from that regime.
6

4. Setting up a master-feeder
structure
A Luxembourg feeder fund is set up,
subject to CSSF approval, which will act as
a feeder into the offshore fund – enabling
then an easier distribution process.
Either new investors or existing investors
of the offshore fund invest in the Luxembourg
feeder.
The Luxembourg feeder invests in the
master offshore fund.
Conclusion –
Why Luxembourg?
The choice between these options – and others
– will depend on various criteria, including the
size of the fund, the number, type and residency
of the investors, the objectives, investments and
exit strategies of the fund, and more.
Whatever the impact and respective importance
of those criteria for a given fund, Luxembourg
offers the investment structures to match.
Longstanding expertise in structuring, setting
up and relocating investment structures, and a
robust yet flexible regulatory environment,
combined with extensive fund servicing
infrastructure and a high reputation all argue
in favour of Luxembourg as the new jurisdiction
for your UCITS, alternative UCITS and
other alternative investments.
Investment Fund Law
UCITS Universe
Alternative Investment
UCITS “Alternative UCITS” REIFs
Venture Capital
Private Equity
Hedge Funds
Fund of
Hedge Funds
Luxembourg has a modern industry
Regulatory
Pragmatic regulatory
regime
Responsiveness
of regulators
SIF regime
Products
Anti-dilution mechanisms
Pooling structures
Investor protection
Services
Key players from
different origins
All asset management
value chain is covered
Unique service for tax certification
and registration
Global TA
Your Current Platform for Optimal UCITS Distribution – Your Future Platform for AIFMD.
7

about alfi
The Association of the Luxembourg Fund
Industry (ALFI), the representative body for
the Luxembourg investment fund community,
was founded in 1988. Today it represents over
a thousand Luxembourg-domiciled investment
funds, asset management companies and a wide
variety of service providers including depositary
banks, fund administrators, transfer agents,
distributors, law firms, consultants, tax advisers,
auditors and accountants, specialist IT providers
and communications agencies.
Luxembourg is the largest fund domicile in
Europe and its investment fund industry is a
worldwide leader in cross-border fund distribution.
Luxembourg-domiciled investment structures
are distributed in more than 50 countries
around the globe, with a particular focus on
Europe, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
ALFI defines its mission as to “Lead industry
efforts to make Luxembourg the most
attractive international centre”.
Its main objectives are to:
Help members capitalise on industry trends
ALFI’s many technical committees and
working groups constantly review and analyse
developments worldwide, as well as legal and
regulatory changes in Luxembourg, the EU
and beyond, to identify threats and opportunities
for the Luxembourg fund industry.
Shape regulation
An up-to-date, innovative legal and fiscal
environment is critical to defend and improve
Luxembourg’s competitive position as a centre
for the domiciliation, administration and
distribution of investment funds. Strong
relationships with regulatory authorities,
the government and the legislative body
enable ALFI to make an effective contribution
to decision-making through relevant input
for changes to the regulatory framework,
implementation of European directives
and regulation of new products or services.
Foster dedication to professional
standards, integrity and quality
Investor trust is essential for success in
collective investment services and ALFI thus
does all it can to promote high professional
standards, quality products and services,
and integrity. Action in this area includes
organising training at all levels, defining codes
of conduct, transparency and good corporate
governance, and supporting initiatives to
combat money laundering.
Promote the Luxembourg investment
fund industry
ALFI actively promotes the Luxembourg
investment fund industry, its products and its
services. It represents the sector in financial
and in economic missions organised by the
Luxembourg government around the world
and takes an active part in meetings of the
global fund industry.
ALFI is an active member of the European Fund
and Asset Management Association, of the
European Federation for Retirement and of the
International Investment Funds Association.
For more information, visit our website at
www.alfi.lu
ALFI thanks Deloitte Luxembourg, which produced most of the content of this brochure,
for its authorisation to print. Deloitte Luxembourg is a member of ALFI.
March 2012
alfi | association of the
luxembourg fund industry
B.P. 206
L - 2012 Luxembourg
Tel: +352 22 30 26 - 1
Fax: +352 22 30 93
info@alfi.lu
www.alfi.lu