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I was pleased to be joined on the phone this week by the core fund finance and ESG sustainability team from Rabobank: Diana van Lieshout, Head FI Lending & Fund Finance; Wouter König, Associate Director FI Lending & Fund Finance; and Maarten Biermans, Head of Sustainable Capital Markets. Rabobank has been front and centre as Sustainability Coordinator on some of the European market’s highest-profile ESG-linked subscription finance facilities, and so we are grateful that they agreed to discuss their experience of the role of Sustainability Coordinator and also to offer some insight into their view of the development of the fund finance ESG market over the last 12-18 months. They further indulged me in a little crystal ball gazing with what some might consider to be unexpected predictions. My thanks to Diana, Wouter and Maarten for participating!
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In-person client presentations have taken a hiatus in the last year plus, but when they were occurring, the question, “Are you seeing a lot of management fee lines these days?”, would always come up. The answer to that question has been: “They are still not that common, but we are starting to see more.” Gaining momentum is still the correct answer. That trend has continued through the hiatus, and while we are not yet willing to say that they are common, we certainly continue to see a higher percentage of them. With that being the case, it would be valuable to once again take a look at management fee lines − what they are, what they are not, and what are (or should be) the underwriting pillars of a loan to a management company.
FFA NextGen hosted a live webinar about ESG’s rise in Fund Finance earlier this week. The event was moderated by Annabella Kwei (Citi), and the panelists included Christopher Spitzhoff (Carlyle), Jose Liz-Moncion (Bank of America), Harlin Singh Urofsky (Global Head of Sustainable Investing at Citi Private Bank) and our very own Wes Misson (Cadwalader).
Fair value accounting, commonly used to value fund assets, tends to understate the true volatility in asset values, according to a research note published by PitchBook. While the findings are not new, NAV lenders may find the summary to be thought-provoking given their reliance on asset values.
Scott Aleali and Jeff Maier hosted a new episode of Fund Fanatics this week featuring guest Max Cantor of Fox Rothschild LLP.
WFF Europe announced a breakfast discussion event, titled “Raising Your Professional Profile,” which will be held on June 24 at 9 a.m. BST. For more information, click here.
In “Subscription Line Finance – Irish Funds,” Walkers provides an overview and comparison of the most common regulated and unregulated Irish fund types that they observe in the subscription line finance space.
Carey Olsen attorneys look at hybrid facilities through an Asia Pacific market lens in a recent article. Portfolio company change of control provisions and the lender’s ability to exercise security over shares are among the considerations highlighted in what are typically multi-jurisdictional financings.
Diversity in Fund Finance will host its next Boundary Breakers speakers series event: a conversation with Marcia Page, Co-Founder and Executive Chair, and Kirsten Voss, Senior Managing Director, of Värde Partners. The program will be held on Thursday, June 24 from 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET/4-5 p.m. BS.
Carey Olsen outlined common issues a lender must address when utilizing investor portals as the delivery method for required notices to investors to perfect a capital call security.
Tune in on June 15 as a panel of industry experts hosted by Matheson will provide their insights into the potential trends and developments in the coming year. A few of the topics to be highlighted include (i) whether the fund finance market has fully stabilized from the impact of COVID-19, (ii) ESG’s impact on the fund finance market, and (iii) Ireland’s Investment Limited Partnership offering. Panel members will include Alan Keating (Matheson), Donal O’Donovan (Matheson), Erin Goldstein (Wells Fargo), Ryan Troiano (MUFG) and Nick Armstrong (Bank of Ireland). For more information on this webinar, click here.