Independent Directorhips

Focus has three highly qualified independent directors with diverse backgrounds covering legal expertise, years of experience working with investment vehicles, regulation and risk management, economic analysis and banking. An independent director has become a crucial service in offshore business, providing a number of distinct advantages to clients, some of which are listed below:

Mind and Management
Traditionally, the offshore independent director has been in place primarily for onshore tax reasons, such as the UK’s Inland Revenue requirement that the mind, management and control of a hedge fund is outside of the UK to avoid UK tax. Having a majority of Cayman Islands directors on the board addresses this issue. Focus provides local directors who can act on the Company’s behalf to maintain such mind and management.

Corporate Governance
Focus provides independent directors with a strong regulatory and risk management pedigree. Our directors possess not only the necessary expertise required for objective corporate governance, but also provide local regulators and service providers with the comfort of knowing that they are dealing with highly regarded individuals with proven regulatory and risk management experience.

Integrity and marketing value
Many prudent investment managers and other offshore clients have seen the need to utilise the services of independent directors as an important sales tool for their investment vehicles as it brings additional integrity to their product offering.

The independent director function differs from the executive directors, who are full time employees and are generally involved in the management of the fund and the non executive director whose involvement is normally limited to attending board meetings.

Focus provides independent directors who are independent of management and free from any business or other relationship which could interfere with their ability to act in the best interests of the fund or other offshore vehicle and its shareholders.