Partnerships as Investment Vehicles

Our recognised expertise in Investment Funds and Financial Services dovetails with our work in the realm of partnership law, where we advise on the use of traditional partnerships, limited partnerships (LPs) and limited liability partnerships (LLPs) as investment vehicles.

Such structures frequently involve analysing whether the partnership, LP or LLP is a "collective investment scheme", so requiring the involvement of an operator authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

We provide advice on whether such an operator is required and, if it is, the basis for appointment.

More widely, we advise on the marketing of participations in such vehicles, the rules for which are complex depending upon whether or not a collective investment scheme is involved.

The LP structure is most widely used due to its combination of tax transparency, limited liability and minimal publicity and filings (in contrast with an LLP which is more commonly used for trading partnerships). We have advised on numerous such structures which are particularly common for property backed joint ventures and schemes designed for participation by tax exempt entities such as charities and pension funds, including self administered pension schemes.