Ofeliia Assa, LL.M., CAIA

Ofeliia Assa has gained significant experience advising leading German, Australian, European and U.S. asset managers and credit institutions on tax and regulatory matters with special focus on compliance under the Solvency II regulations, CRR/CRD IV and the German Insurance Supervision Act. She advises clients on the structuring and regulation of foreign investment funds, with particular emphasis on alternative investments, including hedge funds, infrastructure and real estate investment funds, private debt funds, securitisations and alternative UCITS. She is highly experienced in risk exposure optimization and regulatory reporting and compliance, advising global asset managers and financial institutions targeting institutional investors regulated in Europe.

Capital Markets, Banking & Finance
Financial Services Investment Funds & Alternative Investments

Ofeliia Assa graduated with a master degree in law from Sofia University St. Kl. Ohridsky, Faculty of Law, Bulgaria (magna cum laude) in 1998 specialising in Civil Law and International Affairs. In the same year she emigrated to Israel. In 1998 and 1999 she took up Hebrew studies and passed the qualification exams in Israeli law as a foreign lawyer. In the period from year 2000 to 2002 she completed a one year mandatory legal internship and passed successfully the bar exams in Israel. Since July 2002 Ofeliia Assa has been a member of the Israel Bar Association, district of Tel Aviv.

She started her professional career as a lawyer managing employees’ stock option plans of a high-tech company based in Israel and the USA, supporting also the related tax reporting and other areas concerning employees’ relocation abroad. In the period until 2006 she broadened her practice including cross border tax advising concerning transactions involving activities in Israel and Bulgaria as well as additional corporate and civil law services. During that time she earned her second master degree in commercial law from Tel Aviv University, The Buchmann Faculty of Law, Israel (magna cum laude) with special focus on finance, corporate and securities law.

In 2006 Ofeliia Assa relocated to Germany. Before joining Luther, Ofeliia Assa worked as an international lawyer at PWC providing tax and regulatory advice as a Manager as the Asset Management Tax & Legal/Alternative Investment Groups, and as a Senior Associate at Dechert LLP in Frankfurt am Main in the financial services department.

While expanding her practical experience, she also broadened her knowledge of alternative investments and earned the Chartered Alternative Investments Analyst designation (CAIA) in 2013, becoming a member of the CAIA global organisation. Since 2014 she has also been a member of the Bulgarian Bar Association (Vratza district). She is registered as a European lawyer with the Bar Association in Frankfurt am Main, Germany (Rechtsanwaltskammer – Frankfurt am Main).

From July 2017 through August 2019 Ofeliia Assa was a senior associate in the Financial Service Group at Dechert LLP in Frankfurt. In September 2019 she joined the Capital Markets & Banking team at Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH as counsel.

• Tax, Solvency II and VAG compliance and reporting services delivered to a large international asset manager focused on private debt.
• Solvency II structuring and advising services provided to a U.S. based asset manager interested in approaching European institutional investors.
• Tax advising and legal opinion drafting for an Irish asset manager focused on renewable energy, willing to approach German institutional investors.
• Legal opinion and qualification of infrastructure investments under the Solvency II regulations and regular monitoring and reporting services to an international infrastructure assets manager.