The Tribune

The Bahamas’ latest fund product, the Investment Condominium fund or ICON, was launched to more than 200 Brazilian fund advisors at Bahamas Landfall: Destination Brazil events in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paolo.

The two events were the best-attended Landfall seminars to-date. The BahamasFinancial Services Board (BFSB), the Ministry of Financial Services and 13 sponsor firms participated in the Landfall events, as well as a STEP Brazil event, which included an ICON presentation from a Brazilian practitioner’s perspective.

The ICON is a fund that has been specifically designed to replicate the Brazilian condominium, the structure that all of Brazil’s almost-13,000 funds use. The Investment Condominium Bill was signed into law by Parliament on Monday.

“The events were an unqualified success and we were pleased to have Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services, with us,” said Aliya Allen, BFSB’s chief executive and executive director. “The Minister addressed the audience on the very important topic of ‘In the age of information exchange, where is the Bahamas positioned?’”

Post-event comments from participants spoke to the success of the events. One said: “My partner and I have been greatly inspired by all the speeches delivered, and have taken the decision to get a first- hand feeling of what doing business in the Bahamas is all about.”

Another added: “The timing could not have been more perfect in view of the changes in legislation that we will face.”

Other presenters at Landfall events included:

* Humberto Sanches, Ulh�a Canto, Rezende e Guerra Advogados, and William Heusler, Ita� Unibanco, who covered the background and purpose of the ICON.

* Michelle Neville-Clarke from Lennox Paton, who provided an overview of the Bahamian investment funds regime.

* Christel Sands-Feaste, Higgs & Johnson, who reviewed ICON features and comparisons;.

* Pamela L. Klonaris and Samantha Knowles-Pratt, Delaney Partners, who covered ICON establishment and registration.

* Linda Beidler-D’Aguilar, Graham Thompson, who reviewed the conversion of an existing entity into an Investment Condominium.

* Antoine Bastian, Genesis Fund Services, and Ivan Hooper, Winterbotham Trust Company, who discussed the ICON’s administration and governance requirements.

* Wendy Warren, representing Ansbacher Trust Bahamas, who presented on the advantages of domiciling business in the Bahamas

* Edgar Fernandez, RBC Wealth Management; David Munoz, Deltec Bank & Trust; and Patrick Feuz, Julius Baer Bank & Trust, who spoke to ‘Advantage Bahamas’, with a focus on wealth management and residency.

Along with the BFSB and the Ministry of Financial Services, sponsoring firms for the Landfall events included Ansbacher Bahamas; Delaney Partners; Deltec Bank &Trust; Equity Bank and Trust; Graham Thompson; Genesis Fund Services; Higgs & Johnson; Julius Baer; Lennox Paton; PricewaterhouseCoopers; RBC Wealth Management and The Winterbotham Trust Company. Dupuch Publications acted as a media sponsor.