Law firm Mourant Ozannes has added significant expertise and capacity to its Cayman Islands funds team, with the relocation of partner Alex Last from Hong Kong and the recent appointments of Jennifer Parsons as counsel and Catherine Pham as senior associate.
The company says the appointment comes after hedge fund registrations increased strongly in the Cayman Island over the past six months.
Mourant Ozannes said that March was a particularly active period for the region, with the number of hedge funds regulated by the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) growing 460 over the past two consecutive quarters, with the total number of funds standing at 11,215.
“The Cayman fund sector is currently expanding at a rate of 76.5 new funds per month, even allowing for any cancellations; and the total does not include the large number of funds not required to be regulated, such as single investor funds, or private equity funds typically set up as partnerships, which are also trending higher this year,” said the firm.
Alex Last is an experienced partner, specialising in private equity, investment funds and corporate and commercial work. He also frequently advises on general corporate and finance matters, with particular expertise in the context of fund financing.
Counsel Jennifer Parsons brings knowledge on all aspects of the establishment and ongoing operations of investment funds, Cayman Islands' Companies Law and corporate governance. Her primary focus and experience has been in investment funds, securities investment business and corporate and commercial work she also has experience in mergers and acquisitions and regulatory law.
Senior Associate Catherine Pham brings her extensive offshore experience to Mourant Ozannes, having previously worked for six years with another major firm in the Cayman Islands, where she advised a multinational client base, including some of the world's largest investment banks. Her practice primarily involves investment fund structuring, regulation, restructuring, liquidity management, investor relations and associated corporate transactions.
"The climate for new hedge fund launches remains upbeat and confidence has improved over the summer as we continue to see a steady stream of instructions from both new and existing clients,” said Hayden Isbister, partner and head of Mourant Ozannes’s Cayman Islands corporate practice.
" Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) submissions for 2014 are now largely complete for US clients who appear to have been able to manage the increased regulatory burden quite efficiently.
"We are delighted to welcome Alex, Jennifer and Catherine to the team in Cayman," Isbister added "only by investing in and developing the industry's best talent, can we ensure that we have the right depth of expertise in place to continue exceeding our clients' expectations in this era of unprecedented market change."
Mourant Ozannes, Jennifer Parsons, Catherine Pham, Hayden Isbister, Cayman Islands
