On 20th April 2015 the EU Council adopted the regulation on European Long Term Investment Funds ("ELTIFs") already approved by the EU Parliament on 10th March. This new investment fund legal framework is designed for investors willing to put money into companies and projects for a long term period and it is subject to certain asset diversifications rules since it should invest 70% of its assets in unlisted SMEs needing long-term capital and active in the infrastructure, real estate and intellectual property fields together with listed SMEs with a market capitalisation of less than EUR 500 million; finally the use of derivatives would be restricted only to managing currency risk.
ELTIFs will target both professional and retail investors in the EU and will come into effect 6 months after its publication in the EU Official Journal.
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