TYPES OF COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT VEHICLES AVAILABLE IN LUXEMBOURG

UCITS

stands for Undertakings for 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 therein3

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).

RAIF

stands for Reserved Alternative Investment Funds governed by the Luxembourg Law of 23 July 2016 ("RAIF Law"). Its regime is based on the SIF regime with the important exception that the RAIF is not subject either to authorisation or supervision by the CSSF as a product, which makes it an attractive vehicle from a time-to-market perspective. On the other hand, the RAIF must designate a licensed AIFM, thus benefiting from the AIFMD passport as well as from the protection of the AIFMD framework.

LIMITED PARTNERSHIPs3

Limited Partnerships refer to a category of investment vehicles which are governed by the amended Luxembourg Law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies ("Company Law"). They are not supervised by the CSSF and thus may be formed very rapidly. These vehicles are used for their flexibility and characterised by the contractual freedom in their structuring, similarly to the well-known Anglo-Saxon model of limited partnerships. Limited Partnerships also offer a competitive tax environment and may benefit from the AIFMD passport under certain circumstances. Limited Partnerships can be used to set up investment vehicles under specific sector laws such as the SIF Law, the SICAR Law or the RAIF Law. As such, all flexibilities offered by these legal forms (the main features of which are detailed in the following tables) are also available for a Limited Partnership qualifying as a SIF, SICAR or RAIF (as long as those sector specific laws do not specifically derogate therefrom).

UCITS AND PART II FUND

Legal texts concerning Undertakings for Collective Investment (UCI)

SIF

Memorandum: Specialised Investment Funds: Luxembourg regime for investment funds dedicated to sophisticated investors

Legal texts concerning Specialised Investment Funds (SIF)

SICAR

Memorandum: SICAR: Luxembourg regime for investment funds investing in risk capital and dedicated to sophisticated investors

Legal texts concerning the Investment Company in Risk Capital (SICAR)

AIFMD

Legal texts:

  • The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and its implementation in Luxembourg
  • The Law of 12 July 2013 on alternative investment fund managers

RAIF

Memorandum: Reserved Alternative Investment Funds: Luxembourg regime for investment funds not supervised by the Luxembourg regulator and dedicated to sophisticated investors

Legal text: The Law of 23 July 2016 on RAIFs

LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

Memorandum: Luxembourg Partnerships

Legal text: The Law of 10 August 1915 on commercial companies

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.

3 "Limited Partnership" refers to the société en commandite simple (common limited partnership) and the société en commandite spéciale (special limited partnership).

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