Yannick Arbaut
Partner
Luxembourg
Yannick Arbaut
Partner
Luxembourg
Contact Details
Yannick specialises in the structuring, setting up, and registration of regulated funds (SIFs, SICARs, UCITS and Part II funds,) as well as unregulated funds (limited partnerships and RAIFs) in a variety of areas such as private equity, debt/credit, real estate, infrastructure, social impact investing, equity, bonds and derivatives. He also assists management companies and AIFMs on their licence applications and extensions as well as cross-border issues, and advises clients in the context of their investor due diligence on, and negotiations with, investment funds. Yannick advises sponsors, funds and fund service providers on complex regulatory issues as well. He is a member of the Allen & Overy Social Finance and Impact Investment Executive Committee.
Yannick is an active member of the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) and of the Luxembourg Banking Lawyers Association (ALJB). He is also an active member of our FinTech task force, supporting clients from established financial institutions, incumbents and start-ups in developing innovative products. He joined Allen & Overy Luxembourg in 2007.
“Yannick Arbaut has experience acting for institutional investors, both domestic and international, on the structuring and set-up of regulated and unregulated funds. Clients remark on his ability to advise on complex questions and appreciate their ‘good collaboration’ with him.
Chambers and Partners
Sources say: “Yannick Arbaut is pragmatic, responsive and gives reliable, high quality, commercial advice.”
Chambers and Partners
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as avocat à la Cour, Luxembourg, 2010
Admitted as avocat, Luxembourg, 2008
Academic
Master 2, International Trade Law, University of Montpellier I, 2007
Master 1, Business Law, University of Montpellier I, 2006
Experience highlights
Advising BlueOrchard on the set up and launch its Japan ASEAN Women Empowerment Fund, investing in microfinance institutions focused on lending to female micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs in ASEAN countries. Investors in the fund, which has an eight-year lifetime, include the Japanese government’s Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the government-backed Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Japan’s Sumitomo Life Insurance Company.
Advising a leading global asset manager on the establishment of its Luxembourg AIFM with top-up MiFID licence.
Advising The European Investment Fund on the establishment in Luxembourg of the China-EU Co-Investment Fund, together with the Silk Road Fund, a state-owned investment fund of the Chinese government, providing EUR500m to support equity investments to support SMEs and growing companies across Europe. We advised on the fund structuring and establishment aspects of the project, as well as regulatory issues.
Advising The European Investment Bank on its investments in several infrastructure and renewable energy funds: (i) SUSI Renewable Energy Fund II, comprised of wind and solar farms in Germany, France, the UK, Portugal and Italy; (ii) Ginkgo Fund II, which targets the sustainable remediation of brownfield sites in urban areas; (iii) Cube Infrastructure Fund II, a generalist infrastructure fund targeting equity investments in medium-sized operators and (iv) [INSERT REFERENCE TO Glennmont Clean Energy Fund Europe III]. We assisted the EIB in their due diligence exercise and review and negotiation of the fund documents pertaining to each of the funds.
Qualifications
Professional
Admitted as avocat à la Cour, Luxembourg, 2010
Admitted as avocat, Luxembourg, 2008
Academic
Master 2, International Trade Law, University of Montpellier I, 2007
Master 1, Business Law, University of Montpellier I, 2006
Recognition
I’ve always received excellent service from Allen & Overy, in particular from Yannick Arbaut and Jean-Christian Six. Being swift and responsive is one of the main features that sets them apart from other Luxembourg law firms and makes them popular with overseas clients who typically work in a fast-paced environment. I would not hesitate to recommend Allen & Overy’s investment funds team.
Chambers 2018
Knowledgeable and hardworking.
Legal 500, 2016
Yannick is pragmatic, responsive and gives reliable, high-quality, commercial advice.
Chambers Europe, 2018
Pro-bono experience
- Advising Calvert Social Investment Foundation on its investment in several Luxembourg funds
Published work
- "Derivatives trading under EMIR REFIT: focus on Luxembourg AIFs and UCITSs", AGEFI Luxembourg, October 2019 (co-author)
- "Changes in reporting obligations for investment funds under EMIR", AGEFI Luxembourg, September 2018 (co-author).
- "US Mutual Fund Swing Pricing Proposal: What Can We Learn from Europe?", The Investment Lawyer, January 2016 (co-author).
- "New Guidance for UCITS depositaries following the publication of CSSF Circular 14/587", Bulletin Droit & Banque 54, ALJB, December 2014.
News & insights
Publications: 20 DECEMBER 2019
Failure to register with the Luxembourg RBE: immediate consequences to be expected
According to a recent statement of the Ministry of Justice, the list of entities that have not yet complied with their registration requirement with the RBE will soon be transmitted to the public prosecutor.
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Publications: 10 DECEMBER 2019
Registered AIFMs and internally managed non-AIFs: the CSSF’s reminder of your AML/CFT obligations
The CSSF continues to raise awareness of AML/CFT obligations to the fund industry. Following a conference addressed to registered (sub-threshold) AIFMs and internally managed non-AIFs, the CSSF published a list of common AML/CFT pitfalls.
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Publications: 02 DECEMBER 2019
The CSSF has announced that entities under its supervision will have to complete the next annual AML/CFT risk assessment survey using the e-Desk platform. The period to complete the survey will open on 3 February 2020 for all entities and close after 4 weeks for the banking sector and 6 weeks for other supervised entities.
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Publications: 02 DECEMBER 2019
Important clarifications for the Luxembourg fund industry on AML CFT requirements
Taking into account the results of the Luxembourg national risk assessment which classifies the fund industry as high ML/FT risk, the CSSF clarifies that Luxembourg regulated funds, like Luxembourg investment fund managers (IFMs), are required to appoint two persons in charge of AML/CFT.
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