My understanding is that Millenium wonāt actually do depository accounts for US citizens, even though they will do regular banking. I think this was discussed in another thread somewhere.
So, the more I dig around, the more I like how the scene has changed with this new batch of funds (maybe they were available before but I think theyāre mostly newer since Q3/20 or so). Thereās a much broader spectrum available - true PE, true VC, single-focus funds, lots of non-real-estate. Theyāre mostly available in 50-100k chunks so you can diversify.
What I really like is that these funds are less GV-focused - they focus on being funds, and while they take GV and sometimes create a special share class to meet the need, they donāt truly care if they get GV investors or not. Their glossies are talking about the fund, how great Portugal is for investment, their history and track record, the specific opportunities theyāre looking at; discussion of GV is typically an appendix and a discussion of how theyāre addressing the retention periods and capital flows to meet GV requirements. (There was just something so, so annoying about a fund glossy that was half about GV and the fund itself was practically a hand-wavy codicil.) They often have really deep histories - Explorer dates back to 2003, Portugal Ventures is built on 3 companies going back to 2000 IMGA is a listed mutual fund with a 10+ yr history. I remember being happy just to see BlueCrow with a few years of history. Shilling has less history but seemingly real players, and itās realistic in size and scope for VC. Oh not everything is for everyone but at least thereās more variety.
This, plus Gavinās reminder to look at fund stated purpose versus actuality, has really changed how I view what Iām looking at. (Iām still waiting for lawyer and bank, itās taken forever. Grrr. Customer service - not!) I have to decide here really shortly but it got difficult fast.
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Always interesting to read your ruminative, thinking-aloud posts, jb4422 
My concern about the mutual funds traded on the stock market is the fluctuating value. What if the value of your initial 350,000-euro investment portfolio falls below 350k during the course of the 5 years or when you sell at the end of 5-6 years? SEF could say you didnāt maintain the 350k over the entire period.
That is no different than investing in any other fund. The risks are the same. You could lose everything.
There isnāt a requirement that Iām aware of that your investment maintain a value of 350k, merely that your original purchase be 350k and that you donāt sell it in the meantime. You are perfectly free to lose your shirt in the meantime. Though isnāt it said that you donāt lose anything until you sell? 
Oh is that right? Thanks, good point, need to confirm (that thereās no requirement to maintain 350k value, not that youāre free to lose your shirt 
)
Just saw a Bison Bank presentation for GV investors that gave the bank charges for investing in PE funds as:
Entry: 0.15% transaction fee & stamp duty (4% of subscription fee)
Quarterly custody fee: 0.02% + VAT (23% of quarterly custody fee)
Exit: 0.15% redemption fee & stamp duty (4% of subscription fee)
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As of March, I had a 0.25% entry at Bison. For ā¬350.000, itās ā¬910 for entry, ā¬86/quarter assuming ā¬350.000.
Does Bison do less than 1million? Watching the seminar on their page it said 1mil but I was hoping to still get in at the 350k level.
As far as them being the custodian, yes.
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As Matt D said, if Bison is the custodian of the Fundās investment money. Although Bison, for many is only the bank that will receive US funds and complies with FACTA reporting. Many funds will then take the subscriberās money and deposit it into the Fundās own custodial bank.
Yes, the requirement is that you invest 350K in Portugal. You do not need to maintain the 350K balance at all times. Hopefully none of us loses our shirts in this 
Yes, mine was exactly the same. They also just started a class āRā version of the fund that started selling at 5,16 euros per share.
Not sure if this is always true. My purchased fund shows up in my online Bison account under my account number with number of shares, purchase and current price. Others may want to verify if this is true for everyone. I can see the fund total plus any deposits I have in cash for the same account.
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Thanks! Good to know.
Iām just curiousā¦ does anyone have concerns about what will happen with these funds come Jan 1? Will they be hurting for money since the GV requirements will be rising so much? I had that listed to me as a reason to avoid the funds vs other investment types but I know that doesnāt necessarily hold true for all of them 
A lot of the funds will end their subscription before Jan. 1st. For the funds that donāt just aim at GV investors, they wouldnāt be affected by the change that much. I personally would be thinking opposite from what youāre thinking in that if Iām still on the fence about investing in a fund, I would jump in before January.
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Fair enough
@joseph.c.lapierre thatās very interesting and appealing to me personally. Given the size of the Portuguese economy compared to lets say the US Iām a bit averse to being completely exposed to that but I guess you have that exposure no matter what fund one goes with.
@nisbynator9 obviously it is all a very personal decision on how you want to invest. We tend to not like real estate for all the headaches that can come with it. We wanted something more liquid where we can be more in control of our money quickly. With that freedom comes some risk.
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