Fund and asset management · CIMA
Cayman Islands securities investment business licensing (CIMA)
The Cayman Islands is the dominant domicile for alternative investment funds, and the manager-side regime sits alongside it under the securities investment business framework. For hedge fund and private fund managers raising internationally, it remains the structure institutional investors expect.
The regulator
The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority regulates securities investment business and the funds themselves, and has substantially expanded registration and supervision following international assessments. The regime is no longer the notification exercise it once was.
What the licence permits
Regulated under the CIMA
- Manage Cayman-domiciled hedge, private, and closed-ended funds
- Provide discretionary management to professional investors
- Operate in the domicile most familiar to global allocators
- Access an unmatched offshore fund servicing industry
Who it suits
Alternative managers raising from international institutional capital, for whom investor familiarity with the domicile is itself an advantage.
Market access
Global recognition among institutional investors. EU marketing runs through national private placement rather than a passport.
What to weigh
Costs are at the top end for an offshore jurisdiction and economic substance obligations are enforced. European-focused managers may find an EEA domicile raises capital more easily despite the higher regulatory burden.
We run the Cayman Islands application end to end
Whether you build from new or acquire an existing licensed entity, BrokLicense handles incorporation, the regulator application, the AML and compliance framework, safeguarding and banking arrangements, and the operating stack. You stay the principal. We do the work, in confidence, and stay on for compliance once you are live.
Cost, capital, and timelines depend on your model and are set out in a first consultation, under NDA, not published here.
Other permissions in Cayman Islands
Related reading
- Fund Manager or Investment Firm? Choosing the Right Asset-Management AuthorisationManaging mandates and managing funds are different regulated activities under different regimes. Applying under the wrong one costs a year and a rejection.
- The MiFID Investment Firm Licence: What the Permissions Actually CoverA MiFID licence is not one permission but a set you choose from. The combination you pick sets your capital, your obligations, and your supervisory weight.
- Licensing an Investment-Management Firm: What Changes When You Manage Other People's MoneyRunning an asset or portfolio manager sits under a different permission than broking. Here is what the licence covers and what regulators expect.
- EU Passporting Explained: One Licence, Thirty MarketsA single EU investment-firm licence works across the whole European Economic Area. Here is how passporting works and why it shapes where firms base.
Fund and asset management in other Americas jurisdictions
- United StatesSEC / state regulators
- CanadaProvincial securities commissions
- British Virgin IslandsBVI FSC
- BahamasSCB
Discuss your mandate in confidence
Every engagement begins under a mutual NDA. Set out the firm you intend to operate and the timeline you are working to, and you leave the first consultation with a recommended jurisdiction, the route to the licence, and a defined scope of work.
Prefer email? info@broklicense.com