About us

EICO Funds — Pioneer in Music Royalties Investment

Our Story

In 2015, EICO Funds launched its first sub-fund, EICO 1, to provide alternative investment strategies to a select group of highly regarded investors — clients we had been serving with portfolio management services for nearly 20 years.

Our funds have always been built alongside our clients: long-term vision, lean structure, and truly alternative strategies that stand apart from traditional markets.

The First AIF Dedicated to Music Rights Investment

In December 2021, we launched the EICO Music Fund — the first Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) entirely dedicated to the acquisition and management of musical rights. A pioneering move into one of the most resilient and decorrelated asset classes available to institutional and qualified investors.

Following the exceptional results delivered by the fund, in March 2024 we merged all assets from EICO 1 into the music sub-fund — a clear signal of our conviction in music royalties as a long-term investment.

Today, EICO Funds is open to new investors seeking stability, portfolio decorrelation, and consistent performance through exposure to the global music industry — with the ambition of becoming a world-leading music investment fund.

Why Malta?

We chose Malta because our clients’ interests always come first. 

Malta offers what truly matters to serious investors:

  • Full transposition of European legislation
  • One of the lowest GDP debt ratios in the Eurozone
  • Consistent high growth rates within the EU
  • A stable, reliable regulatory environment for AIFs

We are proud of this choice — not for its marketing appeal, but for the concrete advantages it delivers to our investors.

Fund Denomination: EURO

No fees for subscription and redemption

NAV frequency: quarterly

Our Team

EUGENIO ALLORA ABBONDI
Founder, Director, Investment Committee Member

Eugenio Allora Abbondi began his career in 1999 in the financial sector, becoming an independent advisor in 2004 and building long-term relationships with a select group of high-value clients. Over the years, he developed a strong track record in capital allocation, combining financial discipline with an entrepreneurial approach.

Through direct market experience, he identified structural inefficiencies in traditional investment strategies and increasingly focused on alternative assets and scalable investment models.

In 2015, he founded EICO Funds SICAV p.l.c. in Malta, launching its first compartment and establishing the foundation of a flexible and efficient investment platform.

Building on this experience, he recognized a major inefficiency in the music industry: owning rights is not enough — value is generated through active management, global administration, and operational control.

In 2021, with a forward-looking vision, he launched EICO Music Fund, one of the first AIFs fully dedicated to music rights and among the few globally with a vertically integrated structure across publishing and recording.

EICO Music Fund is not just an investment vehicle, but the financial backbone of an independent, fully integrated music company, designed to maximize the value of music catalogs through strategic acquisitions and active management.

The long-term ambition is to become a leading global player, leveraging technology, industry expertise, and a modern approach to rights management — creating value at the intersection of finance and the music industry.

Dr Frank Chetcuti Dimech is a lawyer by profession he graduated from the University of Malta in 1993. He spent the first six years of his career working as compliance manager with Bank of Valletta plc having responsibility for the compliance of the investment services activities of the bank and its subsidiaries including Valletta Fund Management and BOV Stockbrokers. In 2001 he decided to start up his private practice having his main focus on financial services and more importantly concentrating on providing Compliance, AML and Directorship services to Maltese registered Collective Investment Schemes and Fund Managers as well as providing advice on the content of the funds’ offering documentation and operations of such structures. Today Dr Chetcuti Dimech’s firm provides services to a substantial number of clients having combined assets under management of over Eur 1 billion. Dr Chetcuti Dimech also holds a Masters in Investment Services from the University of Malta and an Investment Advice Certificate from the Securities Institute.

Keith Huber graduated from the University of York with an MSc with distinction in Finance. He currently heads the risk function at Markham Rae LLP, a London based hedge fund, and is also the appointed risk officer of an AIFM. He started his career at the Central Bank of Malta as an economist in 2006 and moved on to occupy high-level risk management roles in banking. He joined MeDirect Bank plc in 2010 and headed the risk architecture team until 2015. During this time, Keith was a member of the Bank’s ALCO. He also delivered lectures regarding financial derivatives and risk management at the University of Malta between 2009 and 2016.

Dr. Clint Bennetti is a lawyer by profession who holds a Master of Arts in Financial Services. He started his career as an associate with a law firm that specialises in financial services and investment services law. During his tenure within the firm he was admitted to partnership. He later joined TMF Group as Director where he was responsible for the day-to-day management and operations of TMF Group’s entities in Malta. At TMF Group, he was Director Client Services of a Company Services Provider, coordinating and managing its business on a day-to-day basis and from a strategic perspective, and Managing Director and member of the trustee committee of a Retirement Scheme Administrator.

Dr. Bennetti has held a number of executive and non-executive directorships as well as company secretary positions in a number of companies in a number of diverse industries.

During his career, he was approved by the MFSA to act as a director and money laundering reporting officer for an Alternative Investment Fund Management company for which he coordinated the successful application for a Category 2 Investment Services License. He is currently director, company secretary, MLRO and Compliance Officer of a number of entities that are licensed by the MFSA, including a number of collective investment schemes.

Dr. Bennetti holds a number of professional qualifications including a certificate in Trusts Law and Management and a certificate issued with respect to the Virtual Financial Assets Act by the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners. During his career Dr. Bennetti has attended numerous other courses on topics such as risk management, securities law, compliance, company law, investment services and collective investment schemes. Dr. Bennetti is a member of the Institute of Financial Services Practitioners and the Malta Institute of Management and is registered and an Authorised Registered Mandatory with the Inland Revenue Department of Malta.

Simon Grima, is the Head of the Department of Insurance, in charge of the Bachelor of Commerce in Insurance, the Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and Master’s degrees in Insurance and Risk Management and an Associate Professor at the University of Malta. He set up the Insurance Department in 2015 and started and coordinates the MA and MSc Insurance and Risk Management degrees. He served as the President of the Malta Association of Risk Management (MARM) between 2013 and 2015, and President of the Malta Association of Compliance Officers (MACO) between 2016 and 2018. Moreover, he is among the first Certified Risk Management Professionals and a board member of the Federation of European Risk managers (FERMA), is the chairman of the Scientific Education Committee of the Public Risk Management Organization (PRIMO) and was a member of the curriculum development team of Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA) in 2014.

His research focus and consultancy is on Governance, Regulations and Internal Controls (i.e. Risk Management, Internal Audit and Compliance) and has over 30 years of experience varied between Financial Services and with public entities in academia, Internal Controls, Investments and IT. He acts as an Independent Director for Financial Services Firms, sits on Risk, Compliance, Procurement, Investment and Audit Committees and carries out duties as a Compliance Officer, Internal Auditor and Risk Manager.

He has acted as co-chair and is a member of the scientific program committee on some international conferences and is a chief editor, editor and review editor of some Journals and Book Series. He has been awarded outstanding reviewer for Journal of Financial Regulation and Compliance in the 2017 Emerald Literati Awards.

Stephanie Heitkemper is a banker by profession, she worked for one of the leading banks in Malta for 35 years, performing various roles amongst which she was also a financial advisor for a number of years. Her role evolved when she moved on to work for the Bank’s subsidiary BOV Fund Services Ltd – a fund administration company. Ms Heitkemper’s role within said company initiated in the business development division, whereby she enhanced her knowledge on Investment Vehicles, their set up and ongoing operations. Her main role was the marketing of the jurisdiction, BOV Fund Services as well as the setting up of Investment Companies in Malta. Stephanie delivered lectures at the Malta Stock Exchange on topics such as the setting up of Funds and their operational requirements. The last 6 years of her career at the bank she was Heading the Corporate Services Division which included as well the Company Secretarial Services Division. During these 6 years, she was also the Company Secretary of one of the largest UCITs funds in Malta. Stephanie holds the International Investment Advice qualification obtained from the Securities Institute UK.

Mr Griglio initiated his career in 1999 in the field of information technology for logistics and not long after, in 2000, began his adventure in the financial world. He spent 8 years working for Banca Sella, where he contributed to the launch and development of one of the first trading platforms in Italy and specialized in the development and optimization of software for interconnections with the several exchanges. In 2008, together with a former colleague Sergio Gregori, he founded SG Financial S.r.l., a small company highly specialised in providing software for trading, and offered his expertise to brokers, proprietary trading companies, banks and insurance companies, thus acquiring extensive experience in the realisation of complex calculation engines and high-frequency trading systems. He boasts of having developed the software for the connection and trading for more than 20 exchanges/brokers. In 2013 Mr Griglio was fundamental in the construction of the IT infrastructure of Audacity Capital DMCC, a proprietary trading firm based in Dubai, and specialized in market making on currency and commodities futures, realising the core software for the market making. Since 2015 Griglio has been fully committed to the development of EICO Fund SICAV plc’s IT.

After obtaining a degree in Economics and Finance and a Master degree in Quantitative Finance and Insurance at the University of Turin on September 2019. Francesca joined our team in October 2019. Her role is to research and analyse various markets providing reports to support the Portfolio Managers of the Funds.

Mr Grech acts as an independent Non-Executive Director and an independent Investment Committee Member and financial consultant to a number of regulated entities. Mr Grech provides coaching and training to a number of local companies involved in the Investment Funds industry in Malta. Since 2013 he has been a lecturer within the Banking and Finance Department of the University of Malta. In 2008, he joined HSBC Securities Services (Malta) Ltd., as Senior Manager Financial Reporting and Analysis. Since 2001 he worked for Valletta Fund Management Ltd, and later for Valletta Fund Services Ltd and for Bank of Valletta International Ltd since 1995. Mr Grech is a qualified Certified Public Accountant and a Member of the Malta Institute of Accountants. He has over 20 years of experience within the Investment Funds industry and also holds a Master’s of Science Degree in Finance from the University of Leicester.

The Fund or the Company are prohibited from taking any additional remuneration other than the Management Fee and the Performance Fee