International law firm Simmons & Simmons has advised Arrano Capital, the blockchain arm of Venture Smart Asia Limited (“VSAL”), on the launch of Arrano Alpha International Master Fund (and its single-legged feeder fund, together the “Fund” or “Arrano Alpha Fund”).
VSAL, subsidiary of Venture Smart Financial Holdings Limited (“VSFG”), the first regulated entity in Hong Kong to receive a full Type 9 asset management licence to manage a portfolio of Virtual Assets in excess of 10% GAV under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (“Type 9 VA Licence”), acts as investment manager of the Fund, while Arrano Capital Management (HK) Limited acts as the technical adviser to the Fund.
The Fund is structured as a “single-legged” master-feeder structure domiciled in the Cayman Islands and primarily invests in digital assets employing an active event-driven and arbitrage strategy. It may also invest in derivatives and other securities linked to digital assets or cryptocurrencies.
Gaven Cheong, a partner at Simmons & Simmons commented, “We are proud of our strong and on-going relationship with Arrano Capital and VSAL and are delighted to have worked on this Fund. Having assisted the Arrano/VSFG team with their ground-breaking application to be the first Type 9 VA Licence holder in Hong Kong, followed by being their lead counsel on the launch of their BTC tracker fund, the launch of this active strategy digital fund is yet another testament to the strength of our offering in the digital assets space. This also represents an important milestone for our client in their journey towards institutionalising their digital assets offering – and we are delighted to be partners with them on this journey”.
Simmons & Simmons is a leading international law firm with one of the largest investment funds and asset management practices in the world. The firm’s Asian offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Beijing together are market leaders in the digital assets funds and regulations space and lead the digital assets funds, regulatory advisory and applications work in the region.
“It was great working with Simmons’ highly experienced team and we are extremely happy with the way they have guided us through the complicated regulatory matters while setting up this Fund. Being part of a leading invesment funds and regulatory practice also meant that Gaven and his team were able to fully utilise their knowledge and experience in the traditional space, helping us to structure and document our Fund, in order to make this a truly institutional grade offering”, said Avaneesh Acquilla, Chief Investment Officer of Arrano Capital.
The Simmons & Simmons legal team comprised of funds and regulatory specialists Gaven Cheong (Partner, Simmons & Simmons) and Louise Ma (Associate, Simmons & Simmons).
