The strengthening of financial regulation at European Union level -- including regulation under the EU’s Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) directive and the more recent Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) -- forms the backdrop to intensifying competition among member states to be the domicile of choice for investment funds operating across the bloc and across the globe. This survey looks at that competition from the point of view of asset managers worldwide who domicile investment vehicles under EU laws. The survey produced the following major findings:
- Fund managers would choose differently if starting afresh, with Ireland ranking well ahead of other countries in managers' estimation of regulatory conditions, legal and tax framework, and non-regulatory and non-tax business conditions.
- When asked about the most important legal and regulatory factors they consider when choosing a domicile, managers said that a country's approach to implementing the AIFMD is most important. This was followed by the sophistication of the national regulator and the approach to implementing the UCITS Directive.
- Managers view the cost of doing business as the most important financial and business factor to consider when choosing a fund domicile. This factor was followed in importance by tax treatment of fund vehicles and the presence of double-tax treaties.
- Speed to market and investors' percenptions of a domicile were ranked most important among the market and distribution factors considered when choosing a domicile.
