Fund Managers nowadays are concerned about one main matter: the time to market of their products. Acknowledging this, Malta as a jurisdiction has launched a new fund structure aimed at allowing managers, even those outside of the EU, to launch their product in Malta efficiently and with lower costs.
The Framework
The introduction of the Notified Professional Investor Fund framework by the Malta Financial Services Registry (“MFSA”) in December of 2023 set numerous benefits to the already advantageous collective investment scheme regime present in Malta. As their name implies, these type of professional investor funds only require notification to the MFSA.[1] Therefore, they are forgoing many processes and application documents which can lengthen the time for a fund to come to market and ultimately reduce costs.
The Set Up
Much like the professional investment funds, NPIFs are only open to professional/qualified investors.[2] They can also be established in any form permitted under Maltese law, therefore they can be set up as
- SICAVs (investment companies with variable share capital),
- INVCOs (investment companies with fixed share capital), [3]
- limited partnerships,
- unit trusts,[4]
- contractual funds, or
- incorporated cells.[5]
Further Requirements
One of the requirements for the functioning of NPIFs is that of a Fund Manager, which can also be a third country Manager, as long as there is a bilateral cooperation agreement or a memorandum of understanding on securities between the MFSA and the jurisdiction. Furthermore, the NPIF must appoint a due diligence service provider which can either be a Company Service Provider or a fund administrator. The latter being ideal since the NPIF is furthermore required to appoint a fund administrator for the provision of said services.
NPIFs take approximately 10 working days to set up from notification date to the MFSA.
For more information on the NPIFs regulatory implications, and the proper set up, feel free to contact us.