Independent governance for private markets funds

Through L Consult, Alex M. Lawrence sits on the boards of general partners, AIFMs and fund vehicles for institutional sponsors, most of them Luxembourg-domiciled funds regulated under the AIFMD. The role is the one a regulator expects of an independent director: informed challenge on investments, valuation, conflicts and risk, and a board that keeps a proper record of how it reached its decisions.

Board mandates

c. 25

Institutional clients

c. 15

Luxembourg fund AuM

> €15bn

Alex currently chairs the boards of Titanbay's general partner, AgFunder's AF Euro Growth Fund GP S.à r.l. and Übermorgen Ventures Management S.à r.l.

Sponsors often bring L Consult in before a fund exists. Because Alex sits on the boards of the kind of structures we help design, we can tell a manager early how a choice of vehicle, service providers or governance model will work once the fund is running and the CSSF is reading the minutes.

• Fund structuringChoice of vehicle and regime for a new Luxembourg fund, such as an SCSp or a RAIF, and how the GP and AIFM should sit around it
• Governance set-upBoard composition, local substance, conflicts and valuation policies, and a board calendar that holds up to regulatory review
• Fundraising readinessPreparing structure, governance and documents for institutional due diligence, and choosing and briefing placement agents
• AIFM and service providersThird-party AIFM or own management company; selecting administrators, depositaries and other providers
• Europe and the GulfGulf investors allocating to European funds, and Gulf managers setting up in Luxembourg
• Asia and LuxembourgAsian managers launching European funds through Luxembourg, and Asian investors structuring their European allocations there

We work alongside a sponsor's legal and tax counsel, not in place of them, and draw on a trusted network of fund lawyers, administrators and placement agents.

Several of the boards Alex sits on are climate and impact funds. They raise questions of their own at board level: whether an SFDR Article 8 or Article 9 classification will hold up, how impact is measured and reported to investors, and how sustainability risk is reflected in valuations and investment decisions.

Alex also teaches Sustainable Finance at INSEAD, which keeps us close to how investors, regulators and managers are approaching these questions as they change.