We also used Bison and have been very happy with their service.
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@Ravig80111, there are two entries for Millenium BCP and they do have a FATCA statement on their site so they should be an option.
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How interesting . Thanks for finding this.
My lawyer tells me that MBCP does not actually want to provide depository services to US citizens. They may have registered for FACTA as a bank, not a custodial institution.
Interesting, good to know. I had started going down the road to opening a depositary account last fall and was ghosted by the gentleman I was working with. That might explain why.
@loheiman We chose BiG because they are Portuguese. While I admit BisonBank was very prompt and their website is better (and English), weāre in this for the long journey and weāre not concerned about the language differences. Ended up choosing based on the ālocalā attributes. And although this is largely a pass through and holding service for our funds, (the money will only be deposited into the account to be transferred to the fundās account swiftly after) the fees are close enough between the two. The debit card will also help without having to open yet another account. Didnāt spend that much time debating between the two.
BIG (www.big.pt)
Subscription fee: 15 bps (350k x 0,15% = 525 ā¬) + 23% VAT
CustĆ³dia anual: 10 bps (350k x 0,10% = 350 ā¬) + 23% VAT
*bps = basis points. Amount above can vary slightly
Bison Bank (www.bisonbank.com)
Subscription fee of 0,20% (+4% stamp duty) ==> eur 728,00 one-off
Quarterly custody fee of 0,02% (+23% VAT) ==> eur 86,10 quarterly
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David, thanks for the detailed response and description of fees. There are a lot more bank fees than I anticipated. Iām spoiled by US brokerages which charge $0 fees!
Agree, MedCapital is interesting as much as itās a combination of āthe right peopleā, former acquisition team from a larger medical group, and a strong financial team. It is intriguing on its own merits as an investment fund beyond the GV association. If I think of these investments on a spectrum, on one end you have the āturn key approachā like Mercan as a one stop shop and very tightly defined time scope and on the other you have more traditional venture capital like MedCapital with a longer time outlook - 10 years. Regardless, from a portfolio standpoint, MedCaptital is interesting for what they are going after to do in the fragmented Portuguese clinical market. It would seem the market is ripe for consolidation and we saw this happen in the US in the recent past. Would love anyoneās perspectives on MedCapital and if you either chose them or decided against.
@dak, Iām leaning heavily into making this investment. The consolidation and efficiency improvements is a pretty compelling story. Iāve read Luz Saudeās annual report and theyāre anticipating continued growth. There will probably be pent up demand for services skipped in 2020. Iāve talked to a friend who works for a US healthcare company whoās expanded into Portugal and continues to grow. He says itās a very good market for them. Even though itās 9/10 years, itās a shorter timeframe to start getting your initial investment back than some other funds. Other than the lowish hurddle, Iām having a hard time finding negatives about this fund.
Hi Ravi. Thanks for reaching out. As it happens, I had a chat with them yesterday (David Pinheiro). It was a very useful chat and their approach to investment is quite interesting and well-insulated (relative to some of the out-and-out VC funds like Indico for instance). Happy to share any notes once you have had your chat. Regards, Jayanth.
Hi Ravi,
I am looking at IBERIS GREYTECH II FUND. If you are looking at the same fund, would you mind I joining you in the call?
Wow there seems to be a huge number of new funds popping up: List of all investment funds qualifying for the Portuguese Golden Visa 2022
Way more than when i first looked a few months ago. Great that thereās a lot more competition now.
Some of them like the Explorer and Portugal Gateway funds are operated by really large fund managers with hundreds of millions of euros under management. Some of them also appear to have been founded several years ago but are now just opening the fund for new (Golden Visa) investment.
Iāve met with the folks at C2 MedCapital. At first glance and with some digging, it seems to be a solid investment. Itās pretty new and any BlackBull investors are now in MedCapital. The operating partners are from Luz Saude. I still need to do more due dilligence, but I think we may be leaning this direction if everything looks good after exploring it more.
Yeah, itās understandably just taken a lot longer for the larger funds to gear up to develop offerings into the space.
I wouldnāt be surprised to see a lot more of the flow go into funds over real estate in the future. Funds are just easier to diversify into. Might be better for the country as a whole too since the money goes into a lot more sectors instead of just driving property prices up. Iām sure there will be other consequences, of course.
Hello all 
new in this GV search. Great community, lots of information, will read all indeed. Just a quick question; I came across a fund called Impacto Fund. I cannot attach their pdf for more information but have you ever heard about them?
I totally agree with the sentiment. The funds are a much more efficient way to invest in my opinion. There is a lot of negative sentiment about the real estate option. The real estate industry obviously wants it to stay but virtually everyone else would prefer it go awayā¦and that seems to be the direction things are going.
In mid-2020 the funds sort of got ahead of themselves and all were chasing too few dollars. I think they have rebalanced a bit and maybe have some better offerings now. It seems odd that the front-runner in investment by far was Nest but I think probably first-mover advantage and had the momentum.
Hi,
I am just sharing one of our recent post on funds.
Venture Capital Funds - the Alternative Route to Get Your Golden Visa
With the new regulation terminating real estate investments in Lisbon, Porto, and other coastal areas from January 1, 2022, many people are looking into alternative ways to apply for Golden Visa, one of them is to invest in venture capital funds. Fund investment was included in the Golden Visa Regime in 2017. It is relatively new when compared to the property investment route, which was launched in 2012, being the main investment option taken by most Golden Visa applicants. However fund investment is gaining traction.
The minimum investment amount for venture capital funds is currently 350,000 euros, beginning from January 1, 2022, it will increased to 500,000 euros.
Here is some relevant information you should consider before taking your investment decision
Advantages of Fund Investments
Lower transactional cost - A purchase of real estate asset imply paying around 7% of the transaction amount on taxes.
Lower maintenance cost - No need to hire a property management company to manage your property for long or short term rental
Not subject to tax on dividend or capital gain income if you are non-resident tax payer
Diversification on investment - The fund will diversify their investments into different companies and/ or assets according to the fund policy and targeted risk/return
Higher potential earnings - Depending on the fund policy and targeted risk/return, capital gains yield can be significantly higher comparing to other investment options related to the Golden Visa program
Funds are highly regulated - Eligible funds for Golden Visa must be registered in Portugal, which means they are regulated and supervised by the Portuguese Securities Market Commission.
Expert management of your asset - Fund managers are experts and their full time job is to make sure the fund performs. Also, many funds have a performance fee which gives fund managers an extra motivation to achieve great results, meaning both investors and fund managers share the same objective.
There are also some drawbacks on fund investments, the most notable is the timing of the exit of the fund.
With a property investment, you have the autonomy of selling your asset and cash out at anytime.
With fund investment, it is a little different. The redemption of the fund and thus the liquidation and selling of fund assets is at the end of the fund schedule, and the ultimate object is to sell the portfolio as a profit. Though, this probably would not be in the exact timing of your 5 year Golden Visa period.
If you want to cash out at the end of your 5 year Golden Visa period, you can sell it in the secondary market, which can be quite illiquid. This doesnāt mean your investment would be at a loss, as it is anticipated that the investment has already generated income and appreciated in value.
What most fund investors do is to wait until the fund starts to dissolve. It may take time to seal a good deal and thus achieve a better return for the fund owners.
The reverse is also true. Unlike property where you can buy and hold as long as you want, buying into venture capital funds mean you wonāt be able to hold it beyond liquidation.
For those who are interested in this route, it is important to note that the holding period is not certain and exact. This option isnāt advisable for investors who have a fixed timeline for the investment and need to cash out at a very specific moment.
As like all Investment, investors should invest based on their own objective, risk profile, total asset allocation, in order to find the most suitable asset to put their money in.
If you have any questions, please donāt hesitate to contact us.
Dear all,
Very helpful discussion on this topic. I am in advanced stages of making a decision on Fund vs Real Estate investment. I am generally risk averse and like the idea of having a professional manager running the fund, regulated by some regulator and preferably audited by a reputable firm. I came across Iberis Capital which seems to meet these requirements. Considering Portugal Yield Fund (PYF) from Iberis.
I have seen some of you investing in Greytech by the same fund manager but none (or hardly any1) considering PYF. So wanted to understand if I am missing any obvious risks or is it simply because their promised returns look low under the PFY. If any of you have invested in PYF could you please DM me to share your experience? I will try to DM investors in Greytech (not sure I will be able to as I have just joined this forum)
Other question was, if I start the process in March 2021, that is appointing a law firm to start the tax no application and bank account etc, can I complete my GV application before the new rules come into effect from 1 Jan 2020 (when investment via fund increases to EUR 500k)
Thanks
Hi Jeff,
Could you please advise when you started the process with Iberis? How long did it take to open the bank account and make an investment in the fund? Were they prompt to allot you your participation units and proof for GV application? Have you been able to complete your GV application/ biometric appointment?
Can you log on to Iberis site and monitor your investment, NAVs?
Thanks
I think many are passing on the Portugal Yield Fund because of the really high (7.5%) set up fee, compared to others which charge only 2-3%.