Centaur’s flagship fund is the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I, which is ‘managed’ or ‘advised’ by Centaur Asset Management Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Centaur.
Launched on 1st November 2012, the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I is a Mutual Fund and generally can only be promoted to investors who are deemed to be High Net-Worth (HNW) and/or Experienced through private placement.
The Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I makes investments in legal claims and disputes (“Disputes”).
Litigation funding or funding of legal claims and disputes is not always the easiest investment to explain. The Association of Litigation Funders, describes litigation funding as:
“Litigation funding is the provision by a third party of finance to a party to litigation or arbitration, which is used to pay for the legal costs of the dispute, in exchange for the funder taking a share of the proceeds in the event of a successful outcome.”
Examples of case types include:
For each Dispute in which the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I decides to invest, Centaur Asset Management’s objective is to structure the funding in such a way so as to eliminate the credit risk to the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I. This is done in a variety of ways including:
Your investment in the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I is designed to be ‘hassle free’. Once registered as a client you will receive the below communications:
You will receive a monthly statement from Apex Fund Services that will include the fund performance, updated ‘Net Asset Value’ or ‘NAV’ per share and the total value of your investment in the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I.
You will also receive the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I monthly fact sheet from Centaur Asset Management and fund performance overview to include a performance graph and explanation of the performance compared to the underlying market conditions and fund strategy.
You can also use Apex Fund Services’ 24/7 fund platform to view your holding in the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I, login credentials can be obtained through Centaur Asset Management.
You can ‘redeem’ or ‘sell’ your shares by completing a ‘redemption form’ and submitting to Centaur Asset Management and Apex Fund Services.
Over the last 6-7 years third party litigation funding has established itself as an attractive ‘alternative’ asset class for sophisticated investors looking to diversify their portfolios beyond more traditional financial instruments.
Traditionally, the attraction of litigation funding has been its ability to offer above average levels of return, with a core asset, the litigation itself, having undergone high levels of due diligence before any monies are invested. The advent of legal costs insurance policies has further strengthened the proposition, as the risk of losing an invested case (cash) could be mitigated.
The investment structure within the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I is unique and differs from other litigation funds principally by:
Providing investors capital protection;
Being an open-ended structure allowing investors to subscribe shares on a monthly basis;
Funding non litigious case; and
Insurance protection.
Centaur Asset Management’s investment policy includes establishing a diversified portfolio of Disputes to include a combination of:
Brief duration and/or lower yielding Disputes intended to produce short-term returns;
Medium duration and/or higher yielding Disputes intended to produce short to medium term returns; and
Longer duration and/or higher yielding Disputes intended to produce medium to longer term returns.
Centaur Asset Management engages the expertise of professionals such as legal counsel accountants, risk assessors and insurers for its determination of the Disputes in which the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I will invest its funds.
Centaur Asset Management does not itself undertake any legal work, matters or proceedings in respect of any Dispute.
If the Dispute is lost the insurance is claimed upon to return the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I’s investment.
Currency: USD and GBP
Minimum Subscription: $10,000 USD/£6,000 GBP
Minimum Top Up: $5,000 USD/£3,000 GBP
Subscription fee: Up to 5%
Annual Management Charge: 2.5%
Performance Fee: 35% of growth above 10% Hurdle Rate per annum.
Calculated monthly, based on a high watermark
Dealing & Valuation Date: First business day of each calendar month
Redemption Charges: 5% in first 12 months, decreasing by 1% per annum, reducing to 0% after 60th calendar month
Redemption Notice: 10 business days notice prior to Dealing Date
Currency: USD and GBP
Minimum Subscription: $1,000,000 USD/£600,000 GBP
Minimum Top Up: $100,000 USD/£60,000 GBP
Subscription fee: Up to 5%
Annual Management Charge: 1.75%
Performance Fee: 25% of growth above 10% Hurdle Rate per annum.
Calculated monthly, based on a high watermark
Dealing & Valuation Date: First business day of each calendar month
Redemption Charges: 2.5% in first 12 months, decreasing by 0.5% per annum, reducing to 0% after 60th calendar month
Redemption Notice: 10 business days notice prior to Dealing Date
Enter your details to receive our corporate investment brochure for the ‘PLFF I’ directly to your inbox
The fund is open-ended and does not have a fixed cap or limit on the amount it can raise. There are minimum investment requirements for the different share classes, please refer to the ‘key facts’ section for further information.
The subscription fees are up to 5%. There is a fund administration charge of 0.6% per annum, reducing to 0.15% per annum as the fund size increases.
There are also performance fees and redemption charges that vary according to the share class. The ‘Net Asset Value’ or ‘NAV’ quoted is net of all costs.
The repayment of monies from Disputes funded by the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I including interest, fixed fees and success fees, achieves capital growth.
You may withdraw money from your investment at any time, subject to the
redemption procedures and timescales for each share class detailed in the ‘key facts’ section and also in the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I investor Supplement.
Progress of your investment can be tracked on www.Phoenix-funds.com. You will also receive a monthly update of the value of your holding in the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I from Apex Fund Services in their role as administrators of the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I. You may also authorise that these updates be sent to your Financial Advisor.
Additionally you will be sent information each month from Centaur Asset
Management and can also view your investment on Apex Fund Services fund platform www.apexfunds247.com
Centaur’s policy includes establishing a diversified portfolio of Disputes to include a mixture of:
Yes, see insurance section.
The Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I is established in Bermuda, which does not impute Bermuda tax. However your returns on your investment may be subject to taxation depending on your local tax regulations and your own tax circumstances. Please consult your own financial or tax advisor if required to determine your own tax position.
Anyone over 21 may subscribe for shares in the fund with a value of $10,000 USD or £6,000 GBP or above subject to completing the relevant subscription form and such subscription being accepted by the fund, Apex Fund Services as the funds administrator and Centaur Asset Management.
The return is reported monthly as the ‘Net Asset Value’ or ‘NAV’ of the shares of the fund. This shows the performance on a monthly basis.
Only law firms authorised and regulated by the Law Society of England and Wales (or equivalent in other jurisdictions) and those holding up to date Professional Indemnity Insurance will be considered. Firms also need to demonstrate they have the experience and infrastructure to manage cases effectively and efficiently.
The benefits to a potential claimant of obtaining funding from the Phoenix Legal Financing Fund I for his or her Dispute include: