UCITS Undertaking For Collective Investment In Transferable Securities

DEFINITION

An Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (« UCITS ») is a regulated, operationally flexible and fiscally efficient multipurpose investment fund regime for a retail investor base.

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

UCITS are governed by several laws and circulars :

Law of 17 december 2010 ; CSSF Circular 07/309 on risk diversification CSSF Circular 07/308 on risk management La circulaire CSSF 11/498 et le règlement CSSF n° 10-4 transposant les guidelines émises par la CESR au niveau européen. CSSF regulation N°10-4 and the CSSF circular 11-498 transposing the CESR guidelines. OBJECTIVE

For at least two reasons, UCITS are very interesting investment vehicles. On the one hand, it is a structured investment product (as it is not limited to some categories only). On the other hand, it provides investment diversification and secures investors.

LEGAL FORM

UCITS may be structured as :

Common Contractual Fund (Fonds commun de placement - FCP); Investment company with fixed capital (SICAF- société d'investissement à capital fixe) ; Investment company with variable capital (SICAV- société d'investissement à capital variable); A SICAV/SICAF can choose one of the following legal forms :

S.A. ; S.à.R.L. ; S.C.A. ; S.C.o.S.A.. A UCITS may be set up as an umbrella structure with multiple compartments.

CAPITAL

If SICAV/SICAF legal form is chosen, minimum capital requirement is of € 300,000 on day of approval by the CSSF and €1,250,000 to be reached within twelve months of said approval.

UCITS MANAGEMENT

A...