Karagh Gilliatt

Practice Areas

For 20 years Karagh has specialised in UK authorised funds, asset and transitions management, long-term insurance and the provision of general regulatory and compliance advice. Karagh regularly advises a wide variety of clients, including investment funds, insurance companies, friendly societies, platform providers, asset and wealth managers on regulatory change projects, client facing terms and conditions (including ISAs, regular saving products and other wrappers), distribution agreements, investment and transition management agreements and custody agreements.

A core part of Karagh’s practice relates to the establishment and operation of UK authorised funds. In particular, Karagh implements fund formations, mergers and reorganisations in relation to all forms of UK authorised and exempt funds, irrespective of asset class. She has also worked on a number of fund business acquisition, disposal and integration projects involving client migrations, fund rationalisations and wrapper transfers.

Her practice has been innovative, and she was involved in setting-up the first real estate fund authorised under COLL; the first (and subsequent) ranges of capital protected funds; as well as the UK’s first Tax-Elected Fund. Karagh has extensive experience in acting for a range of management companies, managers, depositaries and investors.

Karagh is named as a leading individual in Legal 500 and is individually ranked in Chambers.

Publications

She is a current author of Sweet & Maxwell’s “Collective Investment Schemes – The Law and Practice”.

Work Highlights

-Standard Life Investments on the integration of the UK regulated fund business (including ISA business) of Ignis Fund Managers including the mergers of 11 of the Ignis UK authorised unit trusts into a number of sub-funds of Standard Life open-ended collective investment schemes .

-Aberdeen Asset Management on the integration of the funds (including subsequent fund mergers) as a result of its acquisition of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership .

-A number of UK asset management companies on the amendments to documentation following the changes to CASS.

-A number of UK asset management companies (clients include Standard Life, Scottish Widows, Baillie Gifford, T Bailey) in the set-up, acquisitions, conversions and reconstructions of a large range of regulated collective investment schemes, including “fund of fund” structures and “multi-manager” arrangements.

-Kames Capital plc in the establishment of its Property Authorised Investment Fund

-A UK-based AIFM on its hedge fund platform

-A number of UK asset managers and depositaries on regulatory change projects including AIFMD (in relation to a broad range of fund structures), UCITS and MiFID.

-A life insurer on a number of asset transitions, including transitions forming part of a programme of reinsurance risk reduction.

-A number of insurance companies (including Scottish Friendly, Standard Life and Aviva) in insurance business transfers under Part VII FSMA and provided advice in relation to various matters, including permitted links, permissions and capital adequacy.

-A wholesale review of a leading asset manager's protected capital fund range including considering investment management arrangements, derivative documentation, constitutional documentation, marketing literature and terms and conditions.

Education