Luxembourg: Luxembourg Collective Investment Vehicles : Legal Regime And Features In A Nutshell

TYPES OF COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT VEHICLES AVAILABLE IN LUXEMBOURG

UCITS

stands for Undertakingsfor Collective Investment in Transferable Securities and designates those investment funds which  have  been  set  up  in  compliance  with  the  provisions of   the   amended   Luxembourg   Law   of   17   December   2010 implementing  EU  Directive  2009/65/EC  ("UCI  Law").  UCITS benefit  from  a  European  passport  in  that,  once  authorised by  the  supervisory  authority  in  Luxembourg,  they  can,  using a standardised notification procedure, be sold to the public in all other EU Member States. UCITS also benefit from facilities for registration with authorities in numerous non-EU Member States   which   recognise   the   UCITS   label   and   the   investor protection  regime  it  entails.  In  order  to  protect  the  retail investors to which UCITS can be marketed, UCITS are subject to specific rules as regards the assets in which they can invest and the diversification and concentration rules with which they have to comply. These aim at ensuring an appropriate liquidity of the UCITS investment portfolio allowing investors to redeem their units at least twice a month.

PART II FUND

refers to collective investment undertakings governed by Part II of the UCI Law, which do not qualify as UCITS either because of their investment policy or because of the rules applicable to the  distribution  of  their  units/shares.  Although  Part  II  Funds can  be  sold  to  the  public,  they  do  not  have  access  to  the UCITS  passport.  They  will,  however,  benefit  from  the  AIFMD passport¹  under  certain  conditions.  They  are  subject  to  the ongoing supervision of the Luxembourg supervisory authority ("CSSF"). Yet, they have increased flexibility as regards the type of  assets  they  can  invest  in,  the  investment  strategies  they can  employ,  the  diversification  rules  they  are  subject  to  and the liquidity they offer to investors.

SIF

stands  for  Specialised  Investment  Funds  organised  under  the amended  Luxembourg  Law  of  13  February  2007  ("SIF  Law"). SIFs  are  reserved  for  so-called  well-informed  investors,  i.e.  in substance   institutional   investors,   professional   investors   and investors  subscribing  for  a  minimum  of  EUR  125,000.  They are  subject  to  ongoing  supervision  by  the  CSSF.  Because  of  the sophistication of their investors, they benefit from a pretty flexible  regime.  Among  others  things,  SIFs  have  to  invest  in accordance with the principles of risk-spreading but otherwise have full flexibility as regards the type of assets in which they invest and the strategies which they employ. Like Part II Funds, they  will  also  benefit  from  the  AIFMD  passport  under  certain conditions.

SICAR

stands  for  Investment  Companies  in  Risk  Capital  governed by  the  amended  Luxembourg  Law  of  15  June  2004  ("SICAR Law"). SICARs operate under a regime that is tailor-made for private  equity/venture  capital  investments,  including  a  tax treatment which differs from that applicable to UCITS, Part II Funds and SIFs. SICARs are not required to operate under the principle of risk-spreading. They are reserved to well-informed investors  and  are  subject  to  supervision  by  the  CSSF  in  a similar manner as SIFs. SICARs will, under certain conditions, also benefit from the AIFMD passport.

SV

stands    for    Securitisation    Vehicles    organised    under    the amended Luxembourg Law of 22 March 2004 on securitisation ("Securisation   2004   Law").   They   can   be   used   in   certain circumstances  as  an  alternative  to  the  investment  vehicles mentioned   above   or   as   a   complement   to   the   investment structure, mainly depending on the objectives of the transaction and  the  way  it  is  structured.  Securitisation  vehicles  may  be offered to any type of investors, but those that issue securities to the public on a continuous basis, fall under the CSSF supervision. SV will not be subject to the AIFMD regime when qualifying as "securitisation special purpose entities" as defined therein.² A new securitisation regime which reflects the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2017/2402 on securitisations ("SR") has applied since 1 January 2019. Three different securitisation regimes are therefore available in Luxembourg: (i) the SR general regime for  all  securitisations  which  meet  the  criteria  set  forth  in  the definition of securitisation provided in the SR, (ii) the specific SR regime provided for securitisations which qualify as simple, transparent   and   standardised   (STS)   securitisations   under the  SR,  and  (iii)  the  Luxembourg  securitisation  regime  for securitisations other than (i) and (ii).

To view the full article please click here.

Footnotes

1   AIFMD passport refers to the EU passport introduced by the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 2011/61/EU ("AIFMD") for the marketing of Alternative Investment Fund(s) ("AIF") to EU professional investors, as implemented in Luxembourg domestic law.

2  Securitisation special purpose entities are defined in Article 4 (an) of the AIFMD.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.