Undertaking for Collective Investment In Transferable Securities (UCITS)
(legal basis: UCITS-Act, UCITS-Ordinance)
These are securities funds which adhere to the provisions of the UCITS Directive in their investments. Within a year of receiving approval they must have minimum assets of EUR 1.25 million or the equivalent sum in Swiss francs (Art. 9 para. 4 UCITSA, Art. 13 para. 2 UCITSO). A key characteristic of funds configured as UCITS is that, once approved in Liechtenstein and subject to prior notification of the FMA, they can be offered for sale throughout the entire EEA (single licence and European passport; Art. 97 et seq. UCITSA, Art. 107 et seq. UCITSO). They also allow the creation of what are known as “master-feeder structures” (Art. 60 et seq. UCITSA, Art. 71 et seq. UCITSO). Cross-border mergers of funds are possible (Art. 38 et seq. UCITSA, Art. 62 et seq. UCITSO). The level of diversification prescribed by the investment regulations need not be achieved until six months after the fund’s launch, although the principle of diversification must still be applied at all times (Art. 59 para. 3 UCITSA, Art. 4 in conjunction with Art. 69-70 UCITSO). The fund must be valued at least twice a month and the valuation must be in line with customary market practices and international standards (Art. 78 para. 1 UCITSA, Art. 5 UCITSO). With a view to strengthening investor protection, for all fund categories the information and characteristics of the fund that are essential to the investor are clearly and generally comprehensibly described in a standardised summary format in at least one official language of each country in which the fund is distributed (key investor information; Art. 80 et seq. UCITSA, Art. 93 et seq. UCITSO). This type of fund can also be configured as:
If you require further information, we at ONE Funds AG would be delighted to arrange a meeting in person.
Alternative Investment Fund (AIF)
(legal basis: AIFM-Act, AIFM-Ordinance)
The statutory framework for AIFs generally covers any fund that is unable and/or not intended to comply at all times with the provisions of the UCITS Act. It should in any event be noted that the AIFMA does not regulate the product so much as the managers of that product. Its underlying aim was the internationally held political view that tighter regulation of the actual managers would indirectly enhance the quality of the managed AIFs.
As a result, a licensed manager under the AIFMA usually has a large degree of freedom regarding the composition of the actual product. AIFs may hold all kinds of assets and may engage in borrowing and lending under given legal restrictions related thereto. Moreover, under the AIFMA it is possible – in consultation with the appointed depositary – to appoint sub-depositaries and to outsource the actual securities trading to qualified brokers (known as prime brokers).
This large degree of freedom concerning the composition of the actual product goes hand in hand with certain restrictions on the permitted investors. AIFs are normally intended for professional investors as defined in the MiFiD Directive, subject to supplementary regulations at national level. The definition of the typical AIF investor is defined by MiFiD.
There is no legal minimum investment into an AIF for any individual investors. However, for economic reasons the overall volume of an AIF should in all cases be in excess of CHF 10 million even if the legal minimum volume of EUR 1.25 million (or foreign currency equivalent) is significantly lower.
If you require further information, we at ONE Funds AG would be delighted to arrange a meeting in person.
Investment Undertaking (IU)
We currently do not offer structures following the Investment Undertaking Act (legal basis: IU-Act, IU-Ordinance) as such structures are based upon national law only and lack a few of the key advantages that are linked to UCITS and AIF structures.
Furthermore any startegy that could be implemented within a IU-structure could also be implemented within a UCITS and/or AIF structure.
If you require further information, we at ONE Funds AG would be delighted to arrange a meeting in person.
