About us

The Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) was established in February 2013 and registered as an Association in April of the same year under the Associations and Foundations Law   of 1972, with the purpose and aspiration to become the collective voice and the reference point for all professionals and legal entities, offering services or engaged in the Investment Funds Industry in Cyprus.

CIFA’s Board of Directors is comprised of highly reputable industry professionals experienced in all aspects of the industry, including fund management, advisory, banking, audit and legal.

To better fulfill its mandate, and to best utilize the valuable expertise of its members, CIFA has established eleven Technical Committees comprising of experienced industry professionals, which follow relevant developments at local and international level, analyse and discuss implications, challenges and opportunities and recommend best policy options and course of action allowing Cyprus to remain at the forefront of related issues internationally, while continuously expanding  and updating its product to meet market needs.

Our Mission

Provide support to our members Provide support to our members

CIFA’s Technical Committees will analyse and discuss implications, challenges and opportunities presented by developments at both a local and international level. Related guidance papers will be issued to act as sources of reference to market participants.

Be engaged in related regulatory aspects Be engaged in related regulatory aspects

CIFA will monitor developments in the global industry and work closely with the government and regulatory authority in shaping regulations, both when required in light of regulatory developments at a European level as well as when needed to develop new products / services in order to remain competitive.

Encourage maintenance of industry standards and professionalism Encourage maintenance of industry standards and professionalism

CIFA will encourage professionalism, quality and integrity in the services offered by market participants by promoting the protection of investors, advocating adherence to high ethical standards, transparency and good corporate governance. Furthermore, CIFA provide relevant training in order to further support the industry’s growth and the development of best practices.

Promote the Cyprus investment fund industry Promote the Cyprus investment fund industry

CIFA’s ultimate goal is to promote the Cyprus investment fund industry. This shall be done locally by representing the industry in economic missions organised by the government and/or regulatory authority, by hosting fund conferences, events and seminars, and by interacting with the media. Internationally this shall be achieved by promoting awareness through its involvement with industry associations and participation in industry conferences.

Our Vision

To continuously help and support professionals, businesses, and organizations involved in the sector in Cyprus. CIFA focuses on enhancing the high level of sophistication of the Investments Funds Industry and addresses the broad range of needs and issues faced by service providers and businesses.

To help investors to sustainable financial success. Funds and asset managers can help people achieve their goals by placing their investments into well regulated and reputable products managed by experts.

To support society as a whole and create a better living environment for future generations through sustainable products.

Maria Panayiotou
Maria Panayiotou
President

President’s Message

In this challenging landscape that we find ourselves living in today, the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) is placing all its efforts to promote Cyprus as a fund jurisdiction of choice by attracting international players to relocate their operations here and create a suitable ecosystem for them to function. As years go by, the impact of CIFA’s efforts is becoming more and more vital and this observation is now evident to all involved parties. To this effect, I wish to express my deepest appreciation to all who have supported CIFA and the Cyprus fund industry over the past years in achieving the above goal.

Board of Directors

The CIFA Board is comprised of highly reputable industry professionals experienced in all aspects of the industry, including fund management, administration, advisory, banking, audit and legal.

Maria Panayiotou
Maria Panayiotou
President

Mrs Maria Panayiotou is the Managing Director and the AML Compliance Officer of GMM Fund Management, an AIFM licensed and regulated by CySEC. Prior to joining GMM Fund Management, she was serving as the Head of the Company Administration of LLPO Law Firm with 15 years of experience in the fields of registration, administration, advising and structuring of companies in various professional sectors and industries and she was the AML Compliance Officer of LLPO Law Firm since 2016 and Compliance Officer’s Assistant of LLPO Law Firm since 2010. She is also approved as a NOMAD for Cyprus Stock Exchange.

Mrs. Panayiotou holds an MSc in Finance (University of Cyprus) and a BSc in Economics (University of Cyprus) and she passed the Advanced Examination on Financial Services Legal Framework from the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commissions.

Spyros Vassiliou
Spyros Vassiliou
Vice President

Spyros Vassiliou is a Member of the Board of Directors of Invest Cyprus since 2019 and a member of the Cyprus Bar Association. He served as the CEO of P.I. Provident Investments Ltd and he is the Founder of the Law Firm Spyros Vassiliou & Associates LLC and Managing Partner of P.C.S. Provident Corporate Services Ltd. With more than 15 years of experience in both the Legal and Financial sectors, Spyros provides advice and counsel to private and corporate clients, focusing on corporate & commercial law, trusts, estate, tax planning, and IP rights. He is also well established in cross-border commercial litigation. He is passionate about Fin-Tech, mainly niche products and structures, and has a long-established business presence in technology and innovation-oriented markets. An international speaker promoting Cyprus and sophisticated solutions and structures to High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) and Institutional Investors worldwide.

Petros Mavrommatis
Petros Mavrommatis
Vice President

Petros Mavrommatis is the Head of KPMG Cyprus Asset Management Services. He is a graduate of the University of Northumbria in Newcastle with a Ba in Accountancy. He is a practicing member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants (ACCA) and a member of the Cyprus Investment Fund Association (CIFA) and the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

He is currently having a sit as an observer at the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Fund Association. He is also the Vice President of the Corporate Governance and Professional integrity committee of ICPAC. Furthermore, he is the co-founder and vice chairman of the KPMG Cyprus Audit Committee Institute.

Petros embarked on his relationship with KPMG in 2004. He has extensive auditing experience with local and international clients in a variety of industry sectors such as Investment Funds, Investment Companies, Insurance, Banking, Energy, Mining and General Trading. He has also assisted and advised clients with respect to Funds licensing, structuring and administration services. Petros also served in the past, as KPMG’s assistant of the Head of Quality & Risk and the Ethics and Independence partner.

Michalis Vasiliou
Michalis Vasiliou
Board Secretary

Michalis Vasiliou holds a first-class degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Manchester. He is a Fellow member (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC).

Before joining H.M. Pelagic Partners as Executive Director, he worked for KPMG Cyprus between 2007 and 2022 where he served as a Board Member and Head of the Asset Management Services. He also served as the Chairman of the Alternative Investment Funds committee of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA).

Marios Charalambides
Marios Charalambides
Board Treasurer

Marios Charalambides is a Partner, Board Member, and the Head of Financial Services of RSM Cyprus Ltd. He has more than 20 years of professional experienc Marios Georgiades currently holds the position of Manager at the Institutional Wealth and Custody services department at Bank of Cyprus, offering investment management solutions to institutional clients and depositary services to collective investment funds.

He has over 25 years of experience in financial services and held managerial positions in various areas of the industry such as financial research, corporate finance, custody, and private banking services.

Marios is a CFA Charterholder from the CFA Institute and holds the advanced certificate from CySEC for the provision of investment services.

He holds a B.Sc. in Finance from Bentley College, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship and an Msc. in Finance from the Bentley Graduate School of Business, with a graduate assistanceship. e and specialisation in the Financial Services industry.

He was the engagement leader of external audit assignments of many companies ranging in size and complexity, including public and private companies in Cyprus and abroad (main clients include banking institutions, brokerage, and investment firms and funds). He was also involved in advisory projects for the above-named companies in areas relating to risk, control, and governance. He was also leading the Blockchain and Crypto Team of a Big 4 firm in Cyprus. Finally, he is a primary instructor in several external and internal seminars and was a Mentor to high school teams promoting junior entrepreneurship.

Marios graduated from the University of Cyprus with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a specialisation in Finance. He is a Fellow Member (FCA) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) and a Member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC). He was the Vice–Chairman of the Funds Committee of ICPAC, a former member of Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA), and a former member of ICPAC’s technical committee for Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission and Cyprus Stock Exchange.

Andreas Athinodorou
Andreas Athinodorou
Board Member

Mr. Athinodorou has over 30 years of international experience focused on corporate finance, asset management solutions and global corporate structuring.  He is the founder and CEO of ATG Funds (Formerly CEO of the Aspen Trust Group), a financial services group based in Cyprus focusing on International Fund Administration.  His experience covers Investment management solutions, administration of alternative investment funds and cross-border investment structures.

Mr. Athinodorou is a Fellow Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.  He is a founding member and on the board of directors of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) currently serving since 2016 as the Chairman of the Fund Administration Services Committee. He is also a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (I.C.P.A.C.) -one of the two self-regulating bodies for the administration service providers in Cyprus. as well as a member of S.T.E.P., I.F.A and I.T.P.A. He has served as a Director in a number of international Investment Structures.

Christoforos Antoniades
Christoforos Antoniades
Board Member

Mr. Christoforos Antoniades is a shareholder and executive director in the ARGUS group, which offers specialized investment services to international and local institutions and individuals. ARGUS’s core activities include global execution, asset management, corporate finance and investment banking. ARGUS also runs other innovative operations including its own hedge funds, involved in algorithmic and equities trading using proprietary models.

Mr. Antoniades has more than 27 years of experience in the investment management, investment banking and corporate finance fields through his involvement in various international and local financial institutions as manager, director and shareholder. During his career he has been involved in the set up of various businesses and funds and in their managerial, financial and business affairs. He is currently a director of various companies and licensed funds and is an active member of the Board of CIFA.

Christoforos is a qualified Chartered Accountant (ACA), trained with KPMG UK and a licensed Investment Professional (holder of the Advanced Certificate). He has studied Econometrics and Finance (BA Econ) at the University of Manchester. He is aged 49, married, with two daughters.

Christia Evagorou
Christia Evagorou
Board Member

Christia Evagorou is a qualified lawyer having received her qualification in 2009 from the Cyprus Bar Association and a qualified Chartered Accountant (FCA), having received her qualification from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) in 2013. She holds a Director position in the Funds Services department of PwC Cyprus and has been servicing international clients for the past 15+ years, holding positions in the Tax and Legal line of service in Cyprus (Nicosia) and the U.K. (London).

Christia’s area of expertise is corporate structuring, corporate simplifications and buy-outs, managing regulatory and tax requirements and cross-border M&A transactions (buy and sell side). She has extensive experience with Funds and Fund Managers in Cyprus and has worked on international engagements servicing clients outside Cyprus.

Christia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Law (Law major) from the University of Manchester, is a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) and Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) and holds the CySEC Advanced Qualification.

Marios Georgiades
Marios Georgiades
Board Member

Marios Georgiades currently holds the position of Manager at the Institutional Wealth and Custody services department at Bank of Cyprus, offering investment management solutions to institutional clients and depositary services to collective investment funds.

He has over 25 years of experience in financial services and held managerial positions in various areas of the industry such as financial research, corporate finance, custody, and private banking services.

Marios is a CFA Charterholder from the CFA Institute and holds the advanced certificate from CySEC for the provision of investment services. He holds a B.Sc. in Finance from Bentley College, where he studied with a Fulbright scholarship and an Msc. in Finance from the Bentley Graduate School of Business, with a graduate assistanceship.

Elia Nicolaou
Elia Nicolaou
Board Member

Mrs. Elia Nicolaou is the Managing Director of Amicorp (Cyprus) Limited, a position she holds since May 2009. Prior to joining Amicorp, she worked as the head of the Corporate Law department at Polakis Sarris & Co. and prior to that she worked as an advocate at C. Patsalides & Associates. Elia has over 18 years of legal, corporate services and managerial experience and has extensive experience in commercial, corporate and funds law.

Elia holds an LLB in Law from the University of Nottingham. She has also been awarded an LLM in Commercial and Corporate Law from the University College of London and an Advanced Diploma in Business Administration from the Cyprus International Institute of Management. She is a holder of the BAR qualification from the Cyprus BAR Association.

Elia participates in various Boards of private and public companies including roles as President of Committees and a number of Business Associations.

Omiros Nishiotis
Omiros Nishiotis
Board Member

Mr. Omeros Nishiotis is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Fortified Capital Ltd, with more than twenty-five years of experience in the field of Asset Management, Investments, Risk Management and Finance. Omeros has previously served as Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer in financial Services firms in Cyprus and Australia and as the Investment Manager of an International Insurance company, as well as in several other managerial positions in Investment banking and financial services Firms. Since 2016, Omeros has been at the forefront of the Cyprus Funds industry, using his extensive industry and international experience for the development of the Cyprus Funds industry market and is currently an elected member of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association Board of Directors. Throughout his professional career, Omeros has gained great international exposure that earned him Directorship positions in international Asset Management and Investment Banking firms and is often a speaker and moderator in international funds and industry conferences. Omeros is a holder of the Advanced Professional Competency Certificate issued by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.  He is a member of the Society of Technical Analysts UK with a MSTA designation and a member of the Chartered Institute of Securities and Investments, MSCI. Also, Omeros holds a BA (Hons) degree in Accounting and Financial Management from the University of Essex, and a MBA in Finance and a D.I.C. in Management from Imperial College London.

Constantinos Papanastasiou
Constantinos Papanastasiou
Board Treasurer

Mr. Constantinos Papanastasiou currently holds the position of Senior Manager – Fund Services for EFG Bank (Luxembourg) S.A - Cyprus Branch, part of EFG International. Among the fund services, he is offering AIFMD compliant depositary services to Cyprus Alternative Investment Funds.

Constantinos has over 17 years of experience in investment banking and financial services as he was previously the Head of Investment Banking at CISCO, Bank of Cyprus Group.

He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Natural Gas Public Company (DEFA) and of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA).

Constantinos is a CFA Charterholder from the CFA Institute and also holds a Corporate Finance Qualification from the ICAEW and the advanced certificate from CySEC for the provision investment services. He holds a B.Sc. (Econ) in Economics and Statistics (First Class) from University College London and an M.Phil Finance from the University of Cambridge, Pembroke College.

Maria Petsa
Maria Petsa
Board Member

Maria Petsa is the Head of Market and Listing Division at the Cyprus Stock Exchange (CSE) since 2011. Maria has completed 28 years of experience in the Stock Exchange sector. She started as the Head of the Clearing and Settlement of the Cyprus Stock Exchange Transactions and risk management of daily trading at the CSE. She was the responsible Officer for the implementation of the project of dematerialization of all listed securities and handling their Registries at the Central Securities Depository of the CSE. She actively participated in the establishment of the Common Trading Platform between the CSE and Athex Exchange and she has been involved in many strategic projects of the CSE. She also participated, during the Cyprus Presidency in the EU, as a co- Chair of the Committee for the preparations for the CSD Regulation. Prior to the work at the CSE, Maria has worked for one year as a lecturer of Banking and Finance at the European University Cyprus.

Maria holds a BA degree in Accounting and Finance from the University of Sheffield in the UK and an MSc degree in International Banking and Financial Management from the University of Southampton in the UK.

Emilios Tannousis
Emilios Tannousis
Board Member

With over 20 years of experience, Emilios Tannousis brings extensive knowledge and expertise in wealth and asset management for both private and institutional investors. Emilios is a Partner, Wealth Management at Gravity Private Wealth. Emilios, headed the Wealth Management Units at Bank of Cyprus, the Asset Management unit at LFS, managing the teams dedicated in serving, private and Institutional clients, including AIF & UCITS funds, the pension industry, the insurance industry, and investment companies.

Emilios holds a BSc (Honours) in Economics & Finance from the University of Indianapolis, USA, and an MSc in Economic Development & International Finance from the University of Reading, UK. He is a Fellow Charter Certified Accountant (FCCA), member of ICPAC Cyprus, founding member of CIFA and member of the Charter Institute of Securities and Investments (UK). Emilios is currently the Chair of the CIFA HR & Training Committee and serves as member of the CISI National Advisory Council in Cyprus.

George Tsangarides
George Tsangarides

George Tsangarides’ career began at a Big4 firm in 2011, where he obtained his ACA qualification. In 2016, he joined Alter Domus, a leading provider of integrated solutions for alternative investment funds with 5,100 employees and operations across 22 jurisdictions. George is heading the funds administration function locally, a position that requires specialist knowledge and a strong local and global network.

George’s diverse experience with Cyprus and foreign funds implementing a variety of strategies will add value to the association. He is currently a dedicated observer of the Board and committed to remain an active contributor.

Konstantinos Xanthis
Konstantinos Xanthis
Board Member

Konstantinos Xanthis serves Eurobank Cyprus Ltd as Head of Wealth Management Operations since July 2016. He has been with Eurobank group since 2005 holding various positions in the group’s Capital Markets & Wealth Management General Division and more specifically at the Securities Services Sector, leading teams in Securities, Funds and Custody services involved in product design, development, and sales.

He has over 25 years of integrated experience in banking and finance (corporate treasury, asset management, securities & fund services, financial services sales and business development) and has in-depth knowledge of capital markets, securities and the funds industry. He has held positions at Barclays Bank PLC Global Securities Services, Interamerican group treasury and Telesis Investment Bank in Greece and has a comprehensive experience in business development in the European Southeast Region (Greece, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey and Cyprus).

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of South Carolina at Columbia, and an MBA from ALBA Business School in Athens, Greece and he has attended a number of executive seminars in UK, Greece and Cyprus related to investment services, capital markets and products. He holds CySEC’s advanced certificate for investment services.

Aphrodite Zinga
Aphrodite Zinga
Board Member

Aphrodite Zinga qualified as a lawyer in Cyprus in 2012, and has been working since with one of the most reputable firms in Cyprus, Chryssafinis & Polyviou LLC. She specialises in banking and finance law and the provision of regulatory advice to institutional clients, including some of the biggest credit institutions in Cyprus, investment firms, asset management companies and funds. She has worked in numerous complicated projects in the financial services industry, such as restructurings and mergers of funds, listings on the stock exchange (in Cyprus and abroad), conversions of investment firms into funds and setting up of management companies and real estate funds.

Technical Committees

To better fulfill its mandate, and to best utilize the valuable expertise of its members, CIFA has established nine Technical Committees comprising of experienced industry professionals, which will follow relevant developments at local and international level, analyse and discuss implications, challenges and opportunities and recommend best policy options and course of action that will allow Cyprus to remain at the forefront of related issues internationally, while continuously expanding and updating its product to meet market needs.

Committee Name Chairman
AIF Committee Petros Mavrommatis
UCITS Committee Alexios Kartalis
Asset Management and Distribution Committee George W. Sams
Legal and Regulatory Committee Spyros Vassiliou
Fund Administration Services Committee Andreas Athinodorou
Ethics & Risk Management Committee Andreas Theophanous
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Committee Giorgos Constantinou
Tax Committee Neophytos Neophytou
Statistics and Fund Research Committee George Martides
Training / HR Committee Emilios Tannousis
FinTech Committee Antonis Houry

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