Funds

Establishing a fund
is no easy matter.
Unless you have an established law firm.
Robert Kramer, lawyer

We have a long-standing and far-reaching understanding of the funds sector and its market participants.

Assets and investments require a proper game plan. Supported by expert advice.

Alongside capital markets, the funds industry plays an important role in the world of investments. At the same time, fund-linked investments are becoming increasingly interesting options on the financial market for companies and project developers. Mutual funds allow investors (acting alone or via a collective asset manager) to join forces in an investment fund. This in turn enables them to expand the horizons of their investment strategies by bundling capital, while diversifying risk at the same time. “Invest together to minimise risk” – this is the basic idea behind the funds industry.

Now that European standards regulate the industry, funds can cater to the demand for standardised investment opportunities in various asset classes on a transnational level. At the same time, investment laws offer sufficient scope and flexibility to care – via special structures – for the individual needs and requirements of professional investors.

The team at GSK Stockmann offers professional advice to clients who want to preserve or develop long-term potential in the funds industry and who require support with investment processes. Our client base on the offeror side is comprised of service providers including asset management companies and AIFM, asset managers, consultants, third-party distributors and other predominantly institutional investors such as banks, insurance companies and pension funds.

We have many years of experience and an in-depth understanding of the funds industry and the market players involved. Our expertise in the fields of regulatory, taxes and product structuring in Germany and Luxembourg – two highly important markets for funds – enables us to focus on the essentials and offer you extremely targeted advice and support.

Our lawyers and tax experts understand the challenges of the funds industry from more than just the legal and tax perspectives. We take an integrated and comprehensive approach, focussing in equal measure on the practical perspective of market players. Your goals are our benchmark – your perspective.

Further, our lawyers are active members in work groups for a range of German, Luxembourg and European associations such as the BVI, BVK, BII, ALFI, LPEA, InvestEurope and the ZIA. This involvement enables us to monitor and influence legislative developments on your behalf.

Investment structures must be
well-throught out.
Using structured advisers.

Markets in focus

If you want to make the most of every opportunity for growth across the board, top-notch support is a crucial ingredient. Our bundled expertise in all sectors and markets is the answer.

Working on behalf of service providers, we provide comprehensive advice and support for all the tasks and concerns of (asset) management companies or AIFM, as well as asset managers, portfolio managers and consultants for AIF, EuVECA, EuSEF and ELTIF. We also advise and support public organisations with regard to joint investments in UCITS, whether in Germany or Luxembourg. We will help you launch your business model on the market, or align it to the latest legislative or tax-related requirements. We also provide professional advice and support to help you achieve your operative goals – whether with reference to planning, structuring and placing funds products, or with reference to transactions in the various asset classes.

You consider yourself to be a professional asset manager in your asset class, but have consciously decided not to venture alone into the regulatory field? We will be happy to help you realise your investment, e.g., involving regulated business partners.

All activities in the funds industry centre around the capital invested by various investor groups. In recent years, consistently low interest rates for classic investment products have forced investors to search for alternative investment opportunities with potentially higher yields. The steady increase of capital in mutual funds is the logical result. We are closely acquainted with the concerns of institutional investors such as banks, insurance companies and pension funds, and offer such organisations comprehensive advice and support for fund-linked investments – from negotiating funds documentation through to signing collateral agreements or side letters.

Service providers who sell or distribute funds play a key role in the funds industry, and are subject to special regulations. GSK Stockmann not only offers professional advice at the intersection between investment product providers and sellers, but also helps third-party distributors to implement all regulatory demands.

Numerous further market players are involved in the funds industry. These include custodians, administrators, consultants, valuation companies and other service providers. Thanks to our consistently integrated and comprehensive approach, we understand the ways in which these players interact with investment product providers, and can deploy our expertise on behalf of each respective side.

Your contacts.

Understanding your perspective. And finding the best solution.
That is our mission (from left to right):

Key areas of advice

The right experts for every challenge, the perfect team for every client: we focus on the elements that drive your success.

GSK Stockmann offers advice and support with founding and licensing (asset) management companies and AIFM in Germany and Luxembourg, and regularly guides such companies through the jungle of supervisory and tax-related questions connected with collective asset management business models, or with the acquisition, sale, merger or restructuring of (asset) management companies in accordance with corporate law.

Alongside asset management companies and AIFM, we advise and support all other market players on the regulatory framework of the funds industry.

In particular, we deploy our expertise on your behalf by:

Supporting (asset) management companies and AIFM with licensing and registering
Supporting organisations with the implementation of institution-related supervisory requirements
Providing advice and support to (asset) management companies, or the AIFs or UCITS managed by such companies, in completing all voting, approval or notification procedures with supervisory authorities

When companies in the funds industry develop products, we offer comprehensive legal advice and support from a single source – including advice on international legislation and taxation. The lawyers and tax experts in our team are accredited in Germany and in Luxembourg. They have all relevant supervisory, tax-related and asset-specific expertise, and are keenly aware of the regulatory framework which governs institutional investors.

We will help you develop the optimum structures for your funds project – whether open or closed funds, public funds or speciality AIF, in Germany or in Luxembourg.

Our legal services focus primarily on the following asset classes:

Real estate
Private equity
Venture capital
Debt funds
UCITS and other liquid investment strategies

Besides developing and supporting funds vehicles, we also provide comprehensive advice and support throughout the entire transaction process in order to help you implement your investment strategies. In particular, we help you by:

Structuring purchases and sales in accordance with supervisory law and tax law
Conducting legal and tax-related due diligence (taking the respective asset class into account)
Negotiating contracts
Supporting transactions with legal advice on supervisory and tax-related aspects

There are various distribution structures for investment fund products, all of which are subject to countless country-specific and European regulations. More recently, we have also seen new market players taking the stage with innovative digital marketing platforms. Regardless of whether you are an established market player with a conventional sales structure, or a new service provider with a “disruptive” business model, GSK Stockmann offers advice and support to investment product providers and intermediaries in Germany and Luxembourg on all aspects of cross-border sales. In addition, we can help you sell your product via banks or KWG / MiFiD companies, or via so-called “free” sale through intermediaries in Germany.

You are considering investing in a mutual fund on a (semi) professional level, or as an institutional investor? GSK Stockmann will be happy to conduct comprehensive due diligence checks on your behalf, guide you through the participation process and draft or negotiate side letters. We are keenly aware of the needs and concerns of institutional investors – who are in turn subject to banking supervisory laws or insurance supervisory law, for example – and can hence offer advice and support for your fund-linked investments.

GSK Stockmann offers tailored legal advice on aspects of compliance which are affected by supervisory law. These currently include issues such as money laundering and investor-related compliance which arise from MiFID, SFTR, GDPR and PRIIPs requirements – and will soon arise in the wake of the EU action plan for sustainable finance.