Cyprus is gaining confidence that it’s ‘one fund at a time’ policy of growing the nation’s funds industry is working.
Assets under management (AUM) in Cyprus has reached €9.8 billion, the highest level to date, according to the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA).
The Cyprus funds sector is still relatively small compared with traditional destinations like Ireland and Luxembourg, but Cyprus is trying to maintain momentum by growing the sector by “one fund or fund manager at a time,” said a spokesperson, who added that the industry body Efama has said Cyprus presented the highest growth rates in Europe in the last couple of years.
Andreas Yiasemides (pictured), CIFA’s president, said: “During 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, the investment fund sector was tested in Cyprus, as well as internationally, and proved to be very resilient. We were optimistic that with the gradual normalisation of the situation the sector’s growth rate would intensify and we are pleased that these forecasts are confirmed.”
On a quarterly basis, the increase in AUM was of 14%.
The island nation’s confidence for its funds sector was boosted when on June 14, Indian authorities made Cyprus’s funds eligible there. Cyprus also intends to attract Indian funds managers who want to access the EU.
Out of the 166 collective investments funds with activities in Cyprus, 123 invest in Cyprus, partially or wholly, with their domestic investments amounting to €2.2 billion.
CIFA, in collaboration with Invest Cyprus and other stakeholders, is intensifying its promotional activities to highlight the advantages of Cyprus as a destination for investment funds.
Following the recent publication of a consultation paper on a proposed draft law regulating investment fund administrators, CIFA said it was optimistic that the final bill will be put to vote in the House of Representatives in the coming months and said this would be a development that would complete the sector’s legislative framework.
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