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Tuesday, 16th December 2025 |
| Cayman Islands still domicile of choice for Dublin listed funds |
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| Cayman funds with master-feeder structures feature strongly in month under review. |
Davy Stockbrokers (Niamh Moran)
This month saw a high volume of investment funds seeking a listing on the Irish Stock Exchange. Again the master-feeder structure featured strongly with the Cayman Islands being the popular domicile of choice.
Worth noting is EFG Healthcare Long/Short Equity Limited, a Cayman master-feeder which seeks to produce high levels of absolute returns through investment in the securities of companies that are active in the healthcare sector. This includes investment in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, diagnostic and imaging equipment, contract research, orthopaedics and related services.
Another fund of interest is Cross Asia Pacific Fund. This Cayman fund seeks to generate consistent total returns principally by investing in the Asian and Australasian equity and fixed income. The directors believe that the Asian Pacific markets are characterised by greater inefficiency than other more developed markets while concurrently being perceived as increasingly economically important.
They also believe that the Asia Pacific region will provide an ‘event rich’ environment over the next few years and that focused and disciplined investing will provide the potential for consistent high quality returns.
On the domestic front, Davy listed CDC AM-Loomis Sayles Bond Fund and CDC AM-Loomis Sayles Global Opportunistic Bond Fund, sub-funds of CDC AM-Loomis Sayles International Funds plc. The investment objective of the fund is to achieve high total investment return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation. This is to be achieved by investing substantially all of its assets in fixed income securities with each sub-fund focusing on different geographical regions.
The outlook for listings is good as a large number of funds prepare to launch before the summer.
Ernst & Young (Andrew Collins)
On the funds side, it was a very busy period for Ernst & Young with a few interesting additions to the Official List, most notably, The NewSmith UK Hedge Fund Limited, The FTSEhx Fund SPC and Albemarle Geared Fund Limited. The NewSmith UK Hedge Fund Limited is a Cayman master feeder structure. The master fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing in and selling short primarily UK equities. The FTSEhx Fund SPC is comprised of separate share classes, each of which invests in a portfolio of hedge funds corresponding to one of the major investment styles and strategies designated in the FTSE Hedge (an index measuring the performance of certain hedge funds and managed accounts). Albemarle Geared Fund Limited invests in Albemarle Investments Limited, which listed in 2001. In addition to new funds listed on the ISE, the trend of managers adding new share classes and portfolios to existing structures continued unabated during the period.
The period was one in which Ernst & Young acted as listing agent for seven new specialist securities transactions. For the most part these were standard CDO deals. There were, however, also two commercial mortgage backed transactions, Lehman Brothers Floating Rate Commercial Mortgage Trust 2003-C4 Multiclass Pass-through Certificates, Series 2003-C4 listed nine classes of certificates and JP Morgan- CIBC Commercial Mortgage Trust, Commercial Mortgage Pass-through Certificates, Series 2003-FL2 listed twenty-four classes of certificates. Permanent Custodians Limited on behalf of ARMS II Global Fund 4 also issued and listed two classes of bonds.
Goodbody Stockbrokers (Ciara Bollard)
Goodbody Stockbrokers experienced yet another busy month with a number of investment funds and specialist security products successfully admitted to the Official List. Cayman Islands domiciled funds remained popular. Funds that listed during the period under review included FrontPoint Offshore Financial Services Fund, a double master feeder structure, which feeds into a Cayman Island limited partnership which in turn feeds into Front Point Financial Services Fund L.P., a Delaware limited partnership. Arrow Compass Fund Inc, a fund of funds investment company domiciled in the Cayman Islands that has been structured to provide investors with an opportunity to have their assets managed by investment managers in a diversified portfolio of funds selected and monitored by Arrow Hedge Partners Internal Inc. A further Cayman Island domiciled private investment fund, Cantillon U.S. Low Volatility Fund Ltd., listed 3 classes of shares. This fund will invest the net proceeds from the sale of shares, in Cantillon U.S. Low Volatility Master Fund L.P., an exempted limited partnership organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. Finally, Everest Capital Reserve Fund Limited, a corporation formed under the laws of the British Virgin Islands listed a couple of classes of shares.
The investment objective of the fund is to achieve consistent, low-volatility returns by investing primarily in arbitrage, event-driven, special situation and other market-independent strategies on a global basis.
Goodbody Stockbrokers was also involved in a number of specialist security listings during the period under review. Korea First Mortgage No.1 Limited, a company incorporated under the laws of the Cayman Islands listed two tranches of secured floating rate notes which are guaranteed by Ambac Insurance Corporation. The principal asset of the issuer will be senior floating rate notes issued by First Home Loan No. 1 Ltd. A Jersey SPV, Midgaard Finance Limited also listed two tranches of secured floating rate notes. The proceeds of these notes are being on-lent in order to finance the direct or indirect purchase of four blocks of commercial property. As always, several programmes listed new series including, Alexandria Capital Plc, Heather Finance Limited, Arosa Funding Limited, Elva Funding Plc and Dresdner Bank Aktiengesellschaft.
NCB Stockbrokers (Joanne McEnteggart)
The period under review has been particularly busy on both the investment funds side of the business and the specialist security side. Muse Capital LLP launched Muse Global Fund Ltd, who will invest substantially all of its capital through a ‘master-feeder’ structure in the Muse Global Partners LP, and whose investment objective is to maximise risk-adjusted absolute returns while preserving capital, regardless of market conditions.
Emerging Markets Management, L.L.C. launched The EMM Umbrella Funds which listed two sub-funds namely Emerging Markets Global Small Capitalization Fund whose investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation by investing directly and indirectly in equity and equity-related securities primarily of small capitalisation companies traded in the securities market of Emerging Markets and Emerging Markets Latin American Small Capitalization Fund whose investment objective is to seek long term capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity and equity-related securities of small capitalisation companies traded in Latin American securities markets.
London Diversified Fund Management LLP launched London Select Fund Limited whose investment objective will be to generate attractive risk adjusted returns from a highly concentrated portfolio which offers potential profit in both rising and falling markets and has a low correlation with traditional investment strategies.
Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited launched another four funds in their Xavex range namely Xavex Risk Arbitrage 4 Fund, Xavex High Yield 1 Fund, Xavex Convertible Arbitrage 9 Fund, Xavex Currency 2 Fund
io Universal Fund plc listed a new sub-fund namely Sanlam Global Financial Fund and a Class A Share of this sub-fund was listed.
Six new classes were added to Liberty Ermitage Gold & Resources Fund Limited. Two new classes were added to Liberty Ermitage Liquid Assets SPC. Three new classes were added to Liberty Ermitage Selz Fund. Further Shares Classes were added to Third Point Offshore Fund Limited, the Equity Opportunities Limited, Foundry Fund Inc., Martin Currie China A Share Fund Limited and The Topiary Select Trust I. Two new share classes were added to The Lion Fund Limited. Highland Opportunity Fund Limited also added new share classes.
On the specialist security side, Citigroup arranged another deal in the period under review Silver Creek Funding Ltd. and Silver Creek Funding Inc where five tranches of notes were listed. Duke Funding VI Ltd and Duke Funding VI Corp listed nine tranches of the securities they issued, this deal was arranged by UBS Investment Bank. Merrill Lynch arranged Glacier Funding CDO I Ltd and Glacier Funding CDO I Inc, which listed three tranches of notes and Independence VCDO, Ltd. and Independence V CDO, Inc, which listed six tranches of securities. RBS Greenwich Capital acted as Lead Manager to Knollwood CDO Ltd and Knollwood CDO Inc which listed five tranches of notes and one tranche of preference shares and Co-Manager on Acacia CDO 4 Limited and Acacia CDO 4 Inc which listed seven tranches of securities. Sachsen LB Europe plc listed two new series of notes under its medium term note programme Series No. 61 Floating Rate Notes due March 2014 and Series 65 Fixed Rate Notes due 2015. Societe Generale was the lead manager on White Tower 2004-1 plc, which listed five tranches of notes. DZ Bank AG was the Arranger on Konsus 2004-1 Limited, which listed two classes of notes.
RSM Robson Rhodes LLP (Gr?inne O’ Farrelly)
The period under review saw a number of interesting deals being listed on both the investment funds and specialist security side alike.
The Cayman Islands was the domicile of choice once again. The Radrac Global Merger Arbitrage Fund Limited, domiciled in Cayman, listed its Dollar, Sterling and Euro shares on the Exchange. This fund’s investment policy includes utilising a strategy of orthodox merger arbitrage investing in equity and related financial instruments of public companies during announced auctions, takeovers, mergers and corporate restructurings. Barnet Partners, Inc, a Cayman domiciled fund and managed by a California limited partnership, Camden Asset Management, listed its shares on the Exchange.
The Three Kingdoms Korea Fund Limited, also domiciled in Cayman and managed by Fabien Pictet & Partners Limited in London, listed its Class A and B shares during the period under review. The investment objective of the fund is to provide investors with a focussed, absolute-return vehicle concentrating on investing in the shares of mid and small-cap Korean companies.
A British Virgin Island domiciled company, Equest Investments Bulgaria Limited, also listed its shares during the period under review. This company is unusual in that it is a venture capital fund as defined under Irish Stock Exchange rules and has been organized principally to make direct equity or equity-related investments in developing enterprises organized or operating primarily in the Republic of Bulgaria.
On the specialist security side, a large number of deals were listed. Preferred Term Securities XIII listed 7 classes of notes totaling US$476,950,000. This deal was backed by FTN Financial Capital Markets and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
William Street Funding Corp Series 2004-1, 2004-2 listed a fourth and fifth series of notes issued by a Delaware Corporation totaling US$825,000,000. This deal was backed by Goldman Sachs and Daiwa Securities SMBC Europe.
Nine tranches of notes totaling US$400,000,000 were listed by Leopard CLO II BV where Deutsche Bank was the initial purchaser. The notes were secured by a portfolio of Collateral Debt Obligations predominantly consisting of euro and non-euro denominated senior loans, mezzanine loans and high yield bonds and certain synthetic securities of various obligors from qualifying countries. Newcastle CDO IV listed 7 tranches of notes totaling US$414, 000,000 in a deal that was backed by Wachovia Capital Markets and RBS Greenwich Capital. Harvest CLO I SA, a Luxembourg based issuer issued 14 tranches of notes and Merrill Lynch International were the initial purchaser on this deal. |
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