PROMO
26 · MONEY
ISSUE 52
People-centric growth MONEY speaks to Chris Casapinta, country executive Malta and Italy desk leader, at Alter Domus – a financial services company that started off its Malta operations with only three people but which has now been turned into a fully-fledged fund administration and corporate services provider. Can you give me a brief history of the Alter Domus group in Malta? With the financial services industry in Malta developing at a fast pace, I saw that there was a place for an international service provider within the local industry. This has resulted in the decision to set up shop in Malta. Together with my colleagues and our head office in Luxembourg, we went through the necessary licencing process in order to be able to commence business in 2011. At that time, the operation was rather lean, with just myself and two other hard-working colleagues. However, by 2012 we had accumulated a number of important clients, which meant that the operational platform and human resources had to be upgraded quickly to meet our clients’ demands. Over the years, we have continued to attract top clients and we now have the secondlargest Alter Domus office in the EMEA region. We currently employ around 150 experienced professionals and we are growing at a solid double-digit rate. What kind of services does the company offer? Alter Domus Malta prides itself in being a fully integrated provider of Fund Administration and Corporate Services, where our wide range of services is being continuously expanded to cater for our clients’ needs. The range of services include Company
Formation and Fund Launch, Corporate Management, Fund Administration, Accounting and Consolidation, Corporate & Legal Compliance, Tax Compliance, Transfer Pricing, Regulatory Services, Liquidation and Depositary Services. Over the last year we have also launched a number of additional services, including: −
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Co-sourcing services – where our own staff occupy posts at our clients’ businesses in the short or medium term; This service came across very well with our clients as we have the opportunity to send our well-trained staff to the client site within days of their request to fill in staff shortages. Middle-office services – we have moved from offering purely back-office support in the fund management industry to a more value-added middle-office function, a service which puts us closer to our asset manager clients; Capital markets – we have been seeing an encouraging number of capital markets’ transactions locally, which require assistance in terms of setting up SpecialPurpose Vehicles (SPVs) and listing in the various European stock exchanges.
Over the last year we have also focused on improving our service offering in the field of wealth administration for private clients. Specifically within the area of wealth administration, what makes the
combination of Alter Domus and Malta the ideal choice for High Net-Worth Individuals (HNWIs)? I believe that as private clients and HNWIs look to break away from the status quo, Malta has a unique opportunity to consolidate its position as a private wealth administration hub of tomorrow. While jurisdictions such as Luxembourg, Ireland and the Channel Islands target institutional investors, Malta is filling the gap as a unique and flexible private wealth administration hub for family offices and private wealth structuring. In the last 15 years, due to changes in the local and regulatory frameworks, there have been significant changes in the way wealth is structured in order to have more transparent wealth management and administration structures. Malta offers a wide range of investment vehicles, supported by a robust legal infrastructure and regulatory framework. As the international financial market becomes ever more competitive, flexibility has been the key to Malta’s success. An example of such flexibility is the fact that Malta is one of the few jurisdictions catering for both trusts and foundations. Such flexibility has proven attractive to both private clients and HNWIs. The jurisdiction also offers a number of fund options, such as alternative funds, which are free of investment restrictions and therefore attractive to high net worth investors. Cost optimisation and a highly reputable EU location are also equally important drivers. Malta offers a highly regulated, highly respected, sophisticated EU environment, and the country is becoming a popular wealth management jurisdiction for people from across the world.
