• About UCITS
• Financial Statements and Prospectus

About UCITS

UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) are retail funds authorized by one of the member states of the European Union. Since being introduced in 1985, UCITS funds have become increasingly popular among global investors. UCITS funds enable investment managers to distribute their products across borders within a transparent and highly regulated structure. UCITS have been described as the gold standard for investor protection, regulation and disclosure.

Latest figures from the Brussels-based European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) show that UCITS net assets under management amount to almost $6 trillion.

One of the key attractions of UCITS is their ability to “passport” throughout the EU. This means that a UCITS authorized in Ireland, for example, can be sold in any of the other 27 EU member states without the requirement for further regulatory authorization. UCITS have also gained in popularity in other jurisdictions and can be purchased in over 100 countries.

What are the benefits?

• Enhance transparency and comparability through a short and standardized fact sheet, easy to read and understand by the end investor
• Achieve regulatory alignment and reduce administrative burden by enhanced collaboration
• Facilitate cross-border distribution by replacing a cumbersome country by country registration process by a mere notification
• Allow a management company domiciled in one EU country to set up and manage funds domiciled in other EU countries
• Achieve economies of scale and cost reductions by allowing Master-Feeder funds as a pooling technique
• Facilitate cross-border fund mergers to achieve economies of scale and increase average size per fund

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