Interview Quentin Werlé & Julie Bourgeois : Head of Portfolio Management & Head of Legal and Compliance, 6Monks
Julie Bourgeois, Head of Legal and Compliance
Julie Bourgeois is Head of Legal and Compliance at 6 Monks. She has extensive experience in Luxembourg fund law and regulatory frameworks, having previously worked at ATOZ, working on private equity and alternative investment structures. She now leads legal, regulatory and compliance matters at 6 Monks, supporting both traditional alternative funds and innovative digital asset strategies.
Quentin Werlé, Head of Portfolio Management
Quentin Werlé is Head of Portfolio Management at 6 Monks. He has over 10 years of experience in traditional asset management and fund governance, notably having worked at Deloitte Luxembourg, where he focused on private equity, real estate, fund-of-funds and insurance structures.
6 Monks (6M) is a Luxembourg-based alternative investment fund manager providing (“AIFM”). 6M is the first and only authorized AIFM in Luxembourg to manage funds evolving in a regulated environment investing directly or indirectly in crypto assets. 6M business model focuses on funds that invest in both private equity and crypto assets.
What are the services offered by 6 Monks?
6 Monks is a third-party AIFM (supervised by the Luxembourg financial regulator) and Fund Administrator (UCI Administrator), providing a fully integrated platform for alternative investment funds. We support fund promoters across digital assets and crypto strategies, while also managing private equity funds (venture, growth and multi-strategy).
Our services cover the full AIFM scope under AIFMD (portfolio management, risk management, valuation oversight, compliance and AML/CFT), complemented by in-house central administration services, including fund accounting, NAV calculation, transfer agency and registrar services.
A key specificity of our model is our open architecture: depending on the fund’s setup, we operate either under an advisory model or through portfolio management delegation, while retaining full regulatory responsibility as AIFM.
In practice, this integrated approach allows fund promoters to rely on a single regulated counterpart for governance, operations and oversight, enabling them to focus primarily on fundraising, investor relations and investment strategy, while selecting their own depositary and auditor.
6Monks is a new yet experienced Luxembourg market player - what are your expectations from the regulatory environment for the next 5 to 10 years?
Given our ecosystem, we expect continued regulatory progress for digital assets, notably through future updates of MiCA, addressing currently uncovered areas such as DeFi and certain categories of tokens that remain outside the existing framework. Greater clarity in these areas would further support institutional adoption while preserving investor protection.
For private equity strategies, we also welcome the recent signs from the CSSF, including adjustments to diversification requirements for funds targeting professional investors (50% instead of 30%). We expect this trend to continue, with a regulatory environment that remains robust but proportionate, providing both clarity and flexibility to accommodate evolving investment strategies across asset classes.
How would you describe any unique or innovative strategies or approaches that you have used in servicing Luxembourg AIFMs?
Our approach is to apply institutional-grade governance standards traditionally used in traditional assets and in the most regulated funds to more innovative strategies such as venture capital, private equity and digital assets. We help to Funds to be robust, compliant and operationally efficient across different asset classes.
Our unique positioning as a regulated AIFM active at the intersection of traditional alternatives and emerging digital-assets strategies allows us to operate comfortably in complex and evolving ecosystems where regulatory, operational and market practices are still taking shape. We are accustomed to working with nascent strategies, innovative asset classes and non-standard investment models and to translating regulatory principles into pragmatic, workable solutions before market standards are fully established. This hands-on experience enables us to anticipate risks, structure appropriate governance frameworks and guide our clients through uncertainty, while clearly differentiating our approach from more traditional, silo-driven service providers.
What recent challenges have you faced, and how have you addressed them?
One of the recurring challenges since obtaining our licence has been the availability and readiness of service providers around alternative funds, particularly for crypto and digital asset strategies. This includes identifying suitable depositaries, custody solutions and trading venues, in a context where regulatory frameworks such as CASP licensing are still being rolled out.
More recently, we have faced situations where certain actors were not licensed, operationally ready or able to service specific assets or strategies. In response, we have progressively built a robust ecosystem of vetted service providers who became partner, which allow us to day to be in position to say we have the full ecosystem ready for any type of crypto-fund, even if still challenging for some strategy like Decentralized finance (“DeFi”).
How do you maintain relationship with the fund managers of funds?
We work in close partnership with fund managers, positioning ourselves as a long-term governance and structuring partner, rather than a purely operational provider. This is clearly 6M’s DNA and we do that with regular dialogue, transparency and a pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
Beyond governance and regulatory matters, we also place strong emphasis on the operational and technological aspects of fund structures. This includes working closely with managers on infrastructure topics such as data flows, valuation, interaction with custodians, trading platforms and other service providers. By combining regulatory oversight with an understanding of operational and technological constraints, we aim to facilitate efficient day-to-day operations while supporting the manager’s investment strategy.