European third-party management firm FundRock has announced that it will open an office in France as part of plans to assist international investors in accessing alternative asset classes including private equity and real estate.
While already managing French funds under the Freedom to Provide Services (FPS) passport regime, FundRock has decided to bolster its presence in the country by establishing a newly created French AIFM based in Paris, named ‘FundRock France AM’. The platform, which is still conditional upon prior authorisation from the French stock market authority, will be led by Jean Edouard Mazery, who recently joined from Twenty First Capital, the European asset manager.
Mazery was previously managing director and head of real estate at Twenty First Capital and helped to create and develop the asset manager’s real estate fund management business, managing €2 bn in assets by the end of 2019.
He will initially be based in Luxembourg and will relocate to Paris once regulatory approval from the AMF has been obtained.
‘This move into France will expand our firm significantly and enable our clients to deploy capital in French alternative asset classes in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Our immediate focus is securing regulatory approval – but once this is obtained we will work closely with Jean Edouard Mazery and his team to ensure that our managers have access to high-quality opportunities in French real estate and other asset classes,’ FundRock’s CEO Xavier Parain told PropertyEU.
He added: ‘The timing of our expansion reflects increasing demand from international investors wishing to put capital to work in French alternative asset classes, where solid economic fundamentals and a supportive legal and regulatory framework are opening up a range of private equity and real estate opportunities.’
