Fund Management
Nomura's Fund Business Granted UCITS Licence
The firm will be allowed to expands its depository services to UCITS.
Global
Funds Management, a subsidiary of Nomura Bank (Luxembourg),
has been granted a licence to operate as a UCITS management
company, adding to its alternative investment fund manager
status.
The licence allows the organisation to expand
its third-party client base in Europe, Asia, America and NBL
to expand its depository services to the UCITS
structure, the firm said in a statement.
UCITS, or Undertakings for Collective Investment in
Transferable Securities, are EU-registered funds that can be
bought and sold across national boundaries and have been seen as
one of the successes of the European Single Market in financial
services. They are can be offered in different share classes;
Chinese renmbini share classes, for example, have been made
available, helping to widen the appeal of the structure outside
the European bloc.
GFM and NBL provide asset management, custody and administration
services for investment funds promoted mainly by Nomura
Securities and Nomura Asset Management. GFM has €10.4 billion
($12.8 billion) in assets under management and NBL has €59.3
billion of assets under custody.
“UCITS is a strong brand which stands for quality and robustness
of the investment fund and its main service providers,” said said
Jean-Francois Caprasse, GFM general manager. “The granting of
this licence means we can now offer a full range of product
structuring opportunities to asset managers and distributors
around the world.”
According to EY, with over $2.5 trillion of assets in UCITS
investment funds, Luxembourg is the number one global centre and
distribution hub for UCITS. Luxembourg UCITS assets represent a
third of all European UCITS assets. Luxembourg UCITS represent
approximately three quarters of internationally distributed
products, and over 90 per cent of products distributed in some
markets. Luxembourg UCITS are registered for distribution to
investors in countries outside the EU, particularly in Africa,
Asia, the Middle East and South America.
