iPlatforms was enlisted to provide a trustee service and administration platform to facilitate access to a large USD offshore fund on behalf of our client, an Australian based investment arranger. The client had a number of wholesale investors who were keen to get access to the fund. In order to do this, our client had a specific number of requirements that needed to be met, particularly as the fund was covered by certain US regulations and was generally very difficult for non professional investors to access.
iPlatforms set up a specific Australian trust of which iPartners Nominees became the trustee in order to acquire interests in the offshore fund.
iPlatforms then set the deal up on the platform with all information investors needed to make an assessment of the deal including all the underlying fund documentation and a simplified summary. The deal was private so it was only able to be viewed by permissioned investors of the client and not by all investors on the iPartners platform.
iPlatforms worked with the client and legal counsel to understand the requirements on the trustee and the underlying investors under US regulations. Investors needed to be certified as wholesale under Australian regulations and this was conducted in an automated fashion via the platform. Additionally we then collected certifications from the underlying investors that they were Qualified Purchasers under US regulations.
iPlatforms and the client engaged with the underlying offshore fund to understand all required documents to subscribe to the fund (these were numerous and elaborate) and collated all this information to ensure a rapid and seamless subscription process.
All investments were quickly executed via the platform, with the funds being accepted from investors in USD and transferred into a USD bank account setup specifically for the trust. Monies sufficient to cover initial capital calls were collected from the client with an initial call paid to the underlying fund and the rest placed into USD term deposits setup specifically for the trust.
iPlatforms reviewed all offer documentation on behalf of the client for both the offshore fund and the Australian trust and working with legal counsel, ensured it complied with local regulations.
Investor onboarding took place through the platform with many investors having complex family trusts and super funds. Much of the onboarding occurred very quickly through the streamlined iPlatforms process, with only the occasional need to clarify setup with the investor.
The investors can see their holdings in the fund by logging into their account on the platform. They can see comprehensive information including payments made and received and any update to the unit price of their holdings. This also sits alongside any other investments they have made on the platform.
A complete register of all investors and their holdings is maintained by iPlatforms on an ongoing
basis to ensure that any capital calls, distributions and maturities
can be calculated and managed accurately and efficiently.
As capital calls come in, they will be communicated to the client and collected and paid onto the underlying
fund in bulk by iPlatforms. Any defaults will be managed by iPlatforms with units in the trust able to be transferred
to other holders to cover the default. Net asset value is calculated by iPlatforms taking into account the
underlying fund valuation and the fees and costs needed to be netted out from the Australian trust.
Tax information will be collected by iPlatforms for the underlying fund and broken down for investors
and communicated to them after year end.
All communications on the fund and updates on its performance are communicated via the platform comms engine based on information from the Australian client and the fund itself.