Silke Bernard

Silke is a partner in the Luxembourg Investment Funds Group which she joined in 2004.

Silke is an accomplished and versatile funds lawyer who advises and works extensively with big international asset managers and banking groups. She has deep experience with all kinds of regulated and unregulated investment funds, especially in the alternative funds area. Her field of expertise covers all asset classes with a particular focus on private equity, real estate, infrastructure and private credit, including both main funds and access vehicles to large international fund structures. She also has specific experience with managed-account type investment vehicles reflecting the specific needs of dedicated investors (e.g., regulatory). Besides the alternatives business she has also deep knowledge of retail investor funds (UCITS and UCIs) and on regulatory matters including licensing matters or passporting of both service providers and products across Europe.

Silke is the chairperson of several working groups of the Luxembourg fund industry association (“ALFI”), including those on European Long-Term Investment Funds (“ELTIFs”) and on Pensions & Long Term Savings. She is further a member of various other industry working groups, e.g. on infrastructure, private equity and debt funds. She is a member of two committees of the European asset management association EFAMA based in Brussels. She is a regular speaker at conferences and industry roadshows. Silke is currently leading the Luxembourg industry efforts on the implementation of the European Regulation on ELTIFs.

Work highlights

Silke has worked on many complex, innovative and cross-border fund structures, among others these include:

• developing an alternative funds business line for HSBC Trinkaus (based in Düsseldorf) which included hedge fund, infrastructure, private equity, direct lending and real estate funds and further expansion of the successful funds offering across Europe
• assisting international independent asset manager Aberdeen Asset Management in securing their AIFM license in Luxembourg and in passporting their AIFM to several other EU countries as well as structuring and acting as legal counsel to Aberdeen’s real estate funds range and on several segregated account vehicles for sovereign investors 
• advising on several securitisation funds including, a large private credit fund for private equity house CVC Credit Partners and providing advice on unregulated investments structures towards investments vehicles in the regulated sphere
• acting as trusted funds counsel for independent asset manager GAM, providing them with advice on national and cross-border funds restructuring, and working on the migration of their Luxembourg fund platforms to a new depositary bank and administrator
• helping Deutsche Bank Asset and Wealth Management with the creation and structuring of several investment platforms in the alternatives space, including private equity and real estate debt areas as well as a large international pension assets pooling platform in Luxembourg which assisted in efficiency gains for the client

Silke is leading industry efforts on European pension funds initiatives and on the implementation of the European regulation of ELTIFs. 

She is a regular contributor to working groups and committees that are part of Luxembourg’s industry body for investment funds, the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI).

In addition, Silke chairs working groups on pensions & long term savings, and ELTIFs. Silke is, inter alia, a member of committees dealing with private equity & venture capital, infrastructure funds, the real estate investment funds, UCITS management companies and corporate law.

She is co-chair of the dedicated sub-committee on Reserved Alternative Investment Funds (“RAIFs”) and a member of the debt funds committee of LPEA which is the Luxembourg association promoting the private equity and venture capital sector. Silke is further a member of the ELTIF and pensions and long term savings steering committees of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).

Silke is a regular speaker at funds conferences and industry roadshows, where she has spoken, among other subjects, on corporate governance and risk management. She has also published articles on a range of subjects involving investment funds.

Silke studied law in Germany (Humboldt University of Berlin) and holds a masters degree in France (Université Jean Moulin Lyon III).

She speaks German, French and English.

Member of the German Bar, Member of the Luxembourg Bar.