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.

Andreas Yiasemides
Andreas Yiasemides
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.

Andreas Yiasemides
Andreas Yiasemides
President

Mr. Andreas Yiasemides is a Partner at PwC Cyprus, Head of Risk, Compliance & Regulation, Clients & Markets Leader, In charge of Funds Services.

On his graduation from the University of Manchester with a first-class honors degree in Economics, he joined PwC in 1999 and qualified as a Chartered Accountant (FCA).

He continued his career at the Bank of Cyprus, holding various positions including head of the Custody and Trusts Unit. Before returning to PwC in late 2016 as a Partner, he was leading the Fund Services Unit of Treppides Group.

He has served as a member of the Board of the Bank of Cyprus and of the Central Bank of Cyprus. He currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA) and of the Cyprus-India Business Association Committee established by the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI). He is also a member of the Cyprus National Advisory Council of the Charter Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI).

He is the holder of an MBA from the University of Leicester.

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.

Panikos Teklos
Panikos Teklos
Vice President

Mr. Panikos Teklos is the Group CEO of a private financial conglomerate including a brokerage group, an electronic payments group and a wealth advisory group.

Mr. Teklos has more than 20 years of international experience in Investment Banking (BNP Paribas, Barclays Capital and Citigroup in London, New York, Paris, Athens), Strategy, Consulting, Asset and Wealth Management. Prior to taking his new responsibilities in January 2021, he has spent 5 years at Deloitte as a Partner leading Risk and Wealth Advisory Services. Within this role he has setup and led the Funds Advisory services

Mr. Teklos is a specialist in Governance, Risk & Regulation matters, Financial and Capital Management products, structured solutions and business advisory for Financial Institutions and Corporates. He has extensively project managed and advised on Bank restructuring projects, Asset-Liability Management, Operational efficiency, best market practice benchmarking, Economic and Regulatory Capital calculation and effective hedges.

Mr. Teklos is also an expert in multi-jurisdictional investment fund and asset management advisory and was involved considerably in the setup, structuring, capital raising and distribution of multiple types of Funds in various jurisdictions.

Mr. Teklos is a certified Investment Advisor (Certificate in Investments, Securities & Financial Derivatives from SII) and registered in the CySEC Public Register as a holder of the Advanced Examination Certificate offered in conjunction with the Chartered Institute of Securities & Investments. He holds a BSc in Economics from the University College London and an MSc Degree in Finance and Economics from London School of Economics and Political Science.

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.

Maria Panayiotou
Maria Panayiotou
Board Secretary

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.

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.

Antonis Antoniou
Antonis Antoniou
Board Member

Mr. Antonis Antoniou joined Eurobank Cyprus in 2007 and he currently holds the position of General Manager Wealth Management.  He graduated from London School of Economics and Political Science  with a BSc Degree in Actuarial Science and obtained a Master (MSc) in Shipping, Trade and Finance from the City Business School.  Following his studies, he joined Laiki Bank Cyprus where he served for six years as Head of Market Risk Management Unit. He then moved to the Private Banking  Unit of Laiki Bank as Assistant Manager and later served as Manager Private Banking, a position he held until his move to Eurobank Cyprus.  He is a holder of a professional certificate issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission in Investment Advise and Discretionary Portfolio Management.

Marinos Christodoulides
Marinos Christodoulides
Board Member

Marinos Christodoulides is the Chairman of the Cyprus Stock Exchange since 2018 and the Chief Financial Officer of Latomia Pharmakas Group since 2006. Additionally, Marinos serves as non-executive Director and member of the Audit Committee of the Hellenic Energy Exchange in Athens and as board member of the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA).

He served as Vice-Chairman of the Cyprus Stock Exchange and as non-executive Director and Chairman of the Audit & Risk Committees of the Periferiaki Cooperative Bank of Nicosia, which was part of the Cooperative Central Bank of Cyprus. He started his career in 2000 at the Cyprus Stock Exchange as Officer in the Listing & Accounting division and thereafter as the Head of Internal Audit division. Marinos is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a degree in Economics from the Athens University of Economics and Business. He is member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) and the Institute of Internal Auditors of Cyprus (IIA Cyprus). He is married and has two children.

Christos Kalogeris
Christos Kalogeris
Board Member

Mr. Christos Kalogeris, is an Executive Director and the General Manager of BOC Asset Management Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bank of Cyprus and one of the larger asset management companies of the island. Prior to that, he was the Head of Investment Strategy and Advisory Management at Bank of Cyprus.

He spent almost ten years (1998-2007) working for Hellenic Bank serving as Head of Private Banking and Asset Management. In 2004 he initiated and completed the setup of the first ever UCITS mutual fund investing primarily in Cyprus. The fund was registered in Greece and despite different investment restrictions it achieved 1st performance ranking award for two consecutive years. In October 2007 he moved to Egnatia Financial Services (Cyprus) Ltd as Managing Director facilitating a triple merger between Egnatia, CLR and Laiki Investments, and shortly later he was appointed Head of Asset Management at Laiki Financial Services and also served as member of the board of directors.

Christos graduated from the English School Nicosia in 1990 and following military service, he completed his BSc degree in Economics at Bradford University and later obtained an MBA degree from Sheffield University (UK). He is also registered in the CySEC Public Register as a holder of the Advanced Examination Certificate. Christos has more than 20 years of experience is the asset management industry and has attended and presented at numerous events in Cyprus and abroad.

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.

Charalambos Phokas
Charalambos Phokas
Board Member

Mr. Charalambos Phokas is in the Banking business 1979. Currently he holds the position of the General Manager – Administration at the Cyprus Development Bank Public Company Limited.  As from the beginning of his career and until 2015 he was working with Hellenic Bank.  During this period he served at different positions including the position of Branch Manager at a number of Hellenic Bank Branches.  In 1995 Mr. Phokas joined the Organisation and Methods department.

In year 2000 he successfully organised the launching of the Custodian Services department which he managed until 2015.  As from 2003 he was also appointed as General Manager and member of the board of directors of the Bank’s subsidiary “Hellenic Bank Trust & Finance Corporation Ltd”.

Mr. Phokas has substantially attributed to the establishment of the custody concept in the Cyprus market and the establishment of the Custodians in the local Stock Exchange.

Charalambos Prountzos
Charalambos Prountzos
Board Member
Antonis Rouvas
Antonis Rouvas
Board Member

Antonis Rouvas graduated from Wake Forest University, North Carolina, USA with a BSc (High Honors) in Business and Mathematics and holds the professional titles FCA (ICAEW) and AMCT (Association of Corporate Treasurers, UK).

He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and then for the multinational Credit Suisse in a number of posts, starting from Singapore with final appointment in London. In 2004, he joined KPMG as a Partner, based in Nicosia. In 2008 he was appointed as Chief Financial Officer of Hellenic Bank Group. He returned to KPMG in January 2018 as a Board Member, working in the field of Advisory Services for Asset Managers.

In 2021 he returned to Hellenic Bank again as Chief Financial Officer.

Marios Tannousis
Marios Tannousis
Board Member

Mr. Marios Tannousis holds the post of Deputy Director General at the Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA). He has more than twenty four years of international corporate experience, with twelve years in the international banking and financial services group Societe Generale, where he served at various key posts.

He is a Member of the Board of the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) as well as the Cyprus Investment Funds Association (CIFA). He also served as President of the Cyprus Finance & Leasing Association and Board Member in various other organizations and bodies.

He is a Member of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment (CISI) and holds a Bachelor's degree in Economics from Rutgers University, NJ, USA and an MBA from Mankato State University (MSU), MN, USA.

He is also Certified for offering investment services and has a special interest in Economic Development through Investments especially in Banking, Financial Services and Investment Funds.

He represents Cyprus in various international and European Conferences.

Demetris Taxitaris
Demetris Taxitaris
Board Member

Mr. Demetris Taxitaris is the General Manager of MAP S.Platis, a leading consulting firm in the provision of regulatory compliance and related services for regulated entities such as investment firms, investment funds and their managers. He is also the founder and Chairman of Symmetria, an investment advisory firm.

For a number of years he worked at Bank of Cyprus as Head, Asset Management. Prior to that, Demetris worked at Deloitte in London where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.

Demetris holds directorships at the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus and CIFA.

He holds a BSc. Mathematics with Statistics from Imperial College (first class honours) and a MSc. Mathematical Trading and Finance from Cass Business School (distinction).

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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