5th edition of SGSS’ breakfast conferences

Back in March, SGSS announced the development in Luxembourg of a hub of expertise reserved for alternative investment funds. A few months down the line, the interest shown by the participants in this latest SGSS conference confirms that Private Equity, and more generally Alternative Investment Funds (AIF), have an unquestionable appeal in a changing economic environment. SGSS’ ambition is to be a part of this market evolution and to provide a comprehensive offer that is modular and adapted to Alternative Fund players.

On this occasion, SGSS joined forces with other key players in the audit, consulting, legal and asset management domains and chose to focus on the possibilities provided by the AIFM Directive in the field of Private Equity.
A roundtable with various experts was held, chaired by Jean-Pierre Gomez, Head of Regulatory and Public Affairs at SGSS in Luxembourg.

• Olivier Coekelbergs, Partner, Head of Private Equity, EY, talked about the current market situation and the main trends observed in 2013.

• Laurent Fessmann, Partner, Baker & McKenzie, looked at the new Luxembourg structuring possibilities available to Private Equity fund managers,

• Fabrice Lombardo, Conducting Manager at Swiss Life REIM, explained the impacts of the AIFM Directive on asset managers.

• Jean-François Gillet, Head of the AIF department, SGSS Luxembourg, and

• Olivier Pelsser, Head of Commercial Banking, Societe Generale Bank and Trust, presented the solutions offered by Societe Generale.

The AIF regulatory framework is going through major changes and confers a larger number of obligations and responsibilities on fund managers and their custodians. SGSS planned ahead for the changes associated with the transposition of the AIFM Directive into French law on 22 July 2013, and offers customised solutions to Private Equity players in the three areas which are custody, administration and distribution.