ISIS has six principal activities, as follows:
1. Social Entrepreneurship: The ISIS Group and The ISIS Foundation
The following five businesses of The ISIS Group support the activities of The ISIS Foundation-
2. Consultancy and Corporate Legal Services: ISIS Limited and ISIS Law
3. Corporate Finance Advisory: ISIS (Asia Pacific) and ISIS Limited
4. Private Placement and Capital Raising : ISIS (Asia Pacific)
5. Insurance Brokerage: ISIS Limited
6. Fund Administration: ISIS Fund Services Ltd.
1. Social Entrepreneurship: The ISIS Group and The ISIS Foundation
The ISIS Group was established with the key aim of generating funds to support its own non-profit organisation, and accordingly is a very early example of a “Social Entrepreneur”. We established the ISIS Group with the principal objective of supporting The ISIS Foundation (TIF). TIF offers tax deductibility for US-based donors and also has registration as a charity in Bermuda, Nepal, and in the U.K. We have recently established TIF (Australia) and are working towards gaining registration as a Deductible Gift Recipient.
To date the ISIS Group has, as a bottom line expense of the business, paid the vast majority of all of the head office and general off-site expenses of TIF and initially funded all project costs. Over US$2.5 million of the ISIS Group’s revenues have been used to pay these expenses since inception.
TIF now supports 7 projects in Nepal and 2 in Uganda, all in partnership with local community groups. Its focus is to support communities to enable them to deliver health and education services and support to children in extreme poverty. Today, TIF provides support to thousands of people in need through its community development projects.
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2. Consultancy and Corporate Legal Services: ISIS Limited and ISIS Law
ISIS Limited in its capacity as consultant works with institutions which are structuring their businesses or financings using Bermuda as a base, as well as fund managers wishing to launch or restructure investment fund or hedge fund structures which acquire and manage assets globally. Since April 2008, the ISIS consultancy service has been enhanced by the ability to provide niche corporate legal services through ISIS Law, a Bermuda based law firm. As a result we are now able to provide clients with all the commercial, legal and regulatory aspects of their transactions. In particular ISIS Law provides advice on a variety of offshore investment fund vehicles and a range of general corporate transactions. We also assist with the sourcing of independent directors for offshore vehicles and other third party service providers and offer directorship services for the private companies of our clients.
3. Corporate Finance Advisory: ISIS (Asia Pacific) and ISIS Limited
The ISIS Group is a niche financial service provider, with a reputation as a leading advisor in the area of convergence between the investment and banking industries and the insurance and reinsurance markets. In this area, we act as advisor and project manager to a number of financial services institutions, banks and insurance companies, that are seeking to establish convergence structures that merge different aspects of both insurance and banking disciplines.
In this role, the ISIS Group advises clients on legal, commercial and regulatory issues relating to mergers, acquisitions or establishment of de novo financial structures, from inception of a project to completion. The ISIS Group also offers due diligence and advisory services for institutions considering mergers and acquisitions, in Bermuda and abroad.
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4. Private Placement and Capital Raising : ISIS (Asia Pacific)
The ISIS Group acts as Private Placement Agent and raises capital from its client base opportunistically for transactions and investment managers that it believes are unique in the market. We have undertaken the role of Private Placement Agent in a number of large private equity raisings. In 2000, we successfully raised substantial private placement capital for Max Re Capital Limited, then one of Bermuda’s newest and most innovative entrants to its reinsurance market. Max Re listed in mid 2001 on NASDAQ, and we also assisted with raising capital for that listing. In the same sector, The ISIS Group was a member of the underwriting syndicate for the IPO of AXIS Specialty on the NYSE in 2002.
We also acted as a Placement Agent for Moore Capital in the launch of the Moore Japan Restructuring Fund in 2000, successfully raising capital from our leading clients globally. We also raise capital for Strategic Value Partners (SVP), a global distressed debt manager, and a handful of other investment opportunities. We raise capital for about one new opportunity every 12 to 18 months. In 2006, we raised capital for Terra Firma, a very successful private equity firm based in the U.K. During 2008, we have been focussed on raising capital for SVP, due to the unprecedented opportunities arising in distressed debt as a result of the global economic crisis.
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5. Insurance Brokerage: ISIS Limited
ISIS Limited is a licensed insurance broker in Bermuda. We do not broker any traditional insurance or reinsurance business, but occasionally our institutional clients have a need for non-traditional insurance products in some of the structured finance transactions that we are involved with, and accordingly we arrange that insurance in the Bermuda marketplace.
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6. Fund Administration: ISIS Fund Services Ltd.
ISIS Fund Services Ltd. is a Bermuda based specialist hedge fund administrator providing administrative and operational support to a wide range of global investment managers adopting a diverse range of investment styles.
Their product offering specialises in hedge funds and fund of funds providing the global investment management industry with a comprehensive range of hedge fund services. The company is client focused and has the ability to offer product and service tailored to meet clients’ needs. The company is licensed as a Fund Administrator under the Investment Funds Act 2006 and commenced operations in October 2007]. As of August 2008, ISIS Fund Services has approximately US $ 3 billion of client assets under administration.
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Transaction Examples
The ISIS Group is a niche financial service provider, with a reputation as a leading advisor in the area of convergence between the investment and banking industries and the insurance and reinsurance markets. In this area, we act as advisor and project manager to a number of financial services institutions, banks and insurance companies, that are seeking to establish convergence structures that merge different aspects of both insurance and banking disciplines.
In this role, the ISIS Group advises clients on legal, commercial and regulatory issues relating to mergers, acquisitions or establishment of de novo financial structures, from inception of a project to completion. The ISIS Group also offers due diligence and advisory services for institutions considering mergers and acquisitions, in Bermuda and abroad.
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4. Private Placement and Capital Raising : ISIS (Asia Pacific)
The ISIS Group acts as Private Placement Agent and raises capital from its client base opportunistically for transactions and investment managers that it believes are unique in the market. We have undertaken the role of Private Placement Agent in a number of large private equity raisings. In 2000, we successfully raised substantial private placement capital for Max Re Capital Limited, then one of Bermuda’s newest and most innovative entrants to its reinsurance market. Max Re listed in mid 2001 on NASDAQ, and we also assisted with raising capital for that listing. In the same sector, The ISIS Group was a member of the underwriting syndicate for the IPO of AXIS Specialty on the NYSE in 2002.
We also acted as a Placement Agent for Moore Capital in the launch of the Moore Japan Restructuring Fund in 2000, successfully raising capital from our leading clients globally. We also raise capital for Strategic Value Partners (SVP), a global distressed debt manager, and a handful of other investment opportunities. We raise capital for about one new opportunity every 12 to 18 months. In 2006, we raised capital for Terra Firma, a very successful private equity firm based in the U.K. During 2008, we have been focussed on raising capital for SVP, due to the unprecedented opportunities arising in distressed debt as a result of the global economic crisis.
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5. Insurance Brokerage: ISIS Limited
ISIS Limited is a licensed insurance broker in Bermuda. We do not broker any traditional insurance or reinsurance business, but occasionally our institutional clients have a need for non-traditional insurance products in some of the structured finance transactions that we are involved with, and accordingly we arrange that insurance in the Bermuda marketplace.
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6. Fund Administration: ISIS Fund Services Ltd.
ISIS Fund Services Ltd. is a Bermuda based specialist hedge fund administrator providing administrative and operational support to a wide range of global investment managers adopting a diverse range of investment styles.
Their product offering specialises in hedge funds and fund of funds providing the global investment management industry with a comprehensive range of hedge fund services. The company is client focused and has the ability to offer product and service tailored to meet clients’ needs. The company is licensed as a Fund Administrator under the Investment Funds Act 2006 and commenced operations in October 2007]. As of August 2008, ISIS Fund Services has approximately US $ 3 billion of client assets under administration.
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Transaction Examples