Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus should treat investment funds as part of its wider economic defence as regional instability, energy pressures and trade disruption intensify, according to Marios Charalambides.
Call to broaden resilience planning
Charalambides, a board member at the Cyprus Investments Fund Association and partner and board member at Grant Thornton Cyprus, said Cyprus has long highlighted its resilience, citing steady growth, improving public finances and continued attraction of international business. While acknowledging those points, he said that under current geopolitical conditions they are no longer sufficient on their own.
Risks seen as closer to home
He said the environment around Cyprus is becoming more unstable, pointing to war in the region, pressure on energy prices, disruption to trade routes, sanctions complexity and rising uncertainty. He said these factors are no longer distant for Cyprus, describing the island as being in a sensitive part of the world and heavily dependent on tourism, services, shipping and cross-border business, a position he said brings both opportunity and exposure.
Investment funds framed as economic defence
Charalambides said Cyprus should think more seriously about the role of its financial services sector, with greater focus on investment funds and fund managers. He said funds are often viewed as a niche product or a technical part of the professional services market, but argued they should be seen as part of the country’s economic defence.
Channeling private capital into the real economy
He said funds are not only legal structures but tools to direct capital into the real economy, particularly in difficult times when access to well-structured capital matters. He said economies strengthen not only through public spending or bank lending, but also when private capital is channelled into the right sectors with proper governance, speed and discipline.
Next steps for the sector
Charalambides said Cyprus already has a credible funds sector that has grown and matured, but said the next step is not simply to increase assets under management, but to use the sector more intelligently.
Target areas for resilience-focused investment
He said that if geopolitical tensions continue, Cyprus will need more investment in areas that improve resilience, including energy, digital infrastructure, logistics, specialised real estate, healthcare, technology platforms, regulated credit and regional business services. He said these areas are directly linked to protecting growth, supporting jobs and strengthening Cyprus’s position in a difficult region.
How should Cyprus prioritise investment fund activity to strengthen resilience in key sectors?