The second session of AREF’s FUNDamentals Training Series, proudly sponsored by Aztec Group, took place this morning and explored the regulatory landscape and structural choices critical to real estate fund management.
The session was led by Will Lawrence, Partner at CMS, and Paul Dennis-Jones, Fund Manager at Waypoint Asset Management, who brought complementary insights from both legal and fund management perspectives.
Over 60 attendees from AREF’s Fund and Investor Member firms joined this live webinar, which offered a practical introduction to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), key fund structures, and how regulation, liquidity, risk, and strategy align in fund design.
Key topics covered included:
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A recap of AIFMD and its implications post-Brexit
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Open-ended vs closed-ended fund structures
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Joint ventures, club deals and segregated mandates
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Regulatory reporting, compliance and tax considerations
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Co-investment structures and carried interest
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Common pitfalls in governance and how to mitigate conflict
The session also included a discussion on the interaction between liquidity and pricing, lessons learned from previous market cycles, and real-world structuring challenges.
Missed the session? AREF members can now access the session resources below:
View Recording, Slides, Podcast
The materials are available to AREF members via the secure Members Area of our website. Please click here or the blue button to log-in and view.
This series is exclusive to staff at AREF’s Fund and Investor Member firms. The next session will cover Fund Taxation and is scheduled for October 2025, taking place in person in London.
Thank you to Aztec Group for their continued support of the FUNDamentals series, and for also introducing attendees to the Aztec 'NxtGen Network', which supports early-career professionals in private markets. Scan this QR code to sign up to the NxtGen Network LinkedIn page:
For questions or access to the materials, please contact the AREF Team.
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