Malta has, for the second time, been declared Europe's most favoured domicile for hedge funds.
The announcement was made at the 13th European Fund of Hedge Funds Awards 2014.
The Hedge Fund Awards are determined on the basis of a rigorous methodology that provides quantitative and qualitative analysis. The voting is made by a panel of judges which includes top professionals from the funds industry.
Kenneth Farrugia, chairman of FinanceMalta and the Malta Funds Industry Association, said “Accession to the European Union 11 years ago, marked the start of Malta’s journey towards becoming the international fund domicile it is today. The island’s hedge fund industry has continued to grow year-on-year, solidifying its position as a fund domicile of international repute and I am delighted that Malta’s value proposition has been recognized once again this year by the judges of the well-respected and pre-eminent Hedge Fund Review Awards.
[attach id=386134 size="medium"]Anatoli Grech[/attach]
"Malta’s competitive advantage is evidently underpinned by the presence of an accessible and pro-business regulator, a strong operational infrastructure driven by high quality, legal, audit and fund consultancy services as well as the presence of service clusters in the asset servicing space. These critical success factors are frequently mentioned by fund promoters as the key criteria influencing their choice of Malta as a domicile".
In one of the latest developments in the sector, the Malta Financial Services Authority earlier this year issued rules for the setting up of loan funds which were the first of their kind to be issued by a national supervisory authority in Europe and which in turn have spurred a number of enquiries by international fund promoters seeking to use investment fund vehicles to invest in loans.
Anatoli Grech, Executive Secretary of the Malta Funds Industry Association who was present at the awards ceremony said “The recognition of Malta as the Most Favored European Fund Domicile has been awarded for the second consecutive year. This clearly shows that Malta has further strengthened its reputation as a world class financial jurisdiction and its appeal to the various hedge fund stakeholders seeking to establish funds in a European domicile. This indeed augurs very well for the fund’s industry in Malta and all the industry’s stakeholders”.