• More than 500 delegates, from all over the world, participated in the 8th International Funds Summit in Nicosia
• Andreas Yiasemides: The Investment Funds sector in Cyprus is resistant to difficulties

The spotlight of the Investment Funds sector was in Cyprus on 7 and 8 of November 2022. More than 500 delegates, from more than 30 countries, participated in the works of the 8th International Funds Summit, which was held for another year, and with great success, in Nicosia.

The Summit under the title, "Insights for 2023 and beyond", was co-organized by the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) and Invest Cyprus and gathered leaders from the field of Investment Funds internationally, executives of organizations providing related services, supervisory authorities, and European institutions.

The International Funds Summit has been established and is considered one of the most important conferences in the sector, where the latest developments and trends are presented and analysed by leading speakers. The mass participation in this year's conference demonstrated once again the recognition that Cyprus now enjoys as an established destination for investment funds and managers.

It is recalled that Cyprus recently received the positive vote of the members of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA), and in 2023 it will host the 36th annual international conference of the Organization.

The agenda of the International Funds Summit featured important issues, with the Leader's Stage standing out—the summit section where world-class speakers and distinguished professionals shared their insights on the latest international trends shaping the industry. The discussion on the future of asset management also was of particular interest, as experts suggested ways to capitalize on trends in revenue streams, as well as ways to protect investments.

The Minister of Finance, Constantinos Petrides, addressed the conference, and among other things, he shared that “the Funds industry is essential in the provision of alternative tools for the financing of long-term projects, businesses, and start-ups and the local economy of each EU member state. With investor protection being one of the Government’s key objectives, the legal framework for the funds industry has been carefully developed in the last decade. Having said that, as the market develops and matures, the Ministry of Finance is open to adjustments and additions according to best practice, in collaboration with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and the industry, that would serve the needs of both the fund managers and investors alike”.

In his greeting speech, the Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec), Dr George Theocharides, emphasized that “over the last nine years, following the modernization of our legal framework, we have contributed towards the development of an established collective investment funds industry--one that has experienced a threefold increase since 2016, with assets under management currently standing at €10,6billion. Around, €2,6 billion or 24% are invested in Cyprus. The 71,8% of the investments in Cyprus are in Private Equity, while the 11,7% are in Real Estate”. 

The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Invest Cyprus, Evgenios Evgeniou, pointed out that “we are now able to record the tangible contribution of the Investment Funds sector to the economy, which also reinforces the effort to diversify the economic model of the country. Cyprus is an established regional center for financial services, and as such is uniquely positioned to serve the needs of the investment funds industry. At Invest Cyprus, we aim to improve the investor experience and to reduce pain points, whilst at the same time intensifying our efforts to attract new businesses and investments that create new, highly skilled jobs and add sustainable value to our economy.”

The President of CIFA, Andreas Yiasemides, noted that "despite the difficulties, the Investment Funds sector in Cyprus has proven its resilience, both during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as recently with the effects of the war on Ukraine, the energy crisis, and the inflationary pressures. Cyprus is steadily gaining momentum in the international capital and asset management industry.”

Prominent figures such as Thomas Tilley, Senior Economist of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), Stéphane Janin, Co-Chair of Asset Management and Investors Council, International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and Dr Nicolaos Mastrogiannopoulos, Chief Scientist of Research & Innovation and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Research and Innovation Foundation Cyprus (RIF), were hosted on the stage of the conference. In addition, presentations were made by executives from leading international organizations such as UBS, Morgan Stanley, Northern Trust, RSM, Kroll Advisory, JP Morgan, Mercer, and Generali.

The conference was held under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Cyprus and CySec.