According to the Maltese legislation, hedge funds can be established as Professional Investor Funds (PIFs) and benefit from a more flexible treatment than retail funds. The Malta Financial Services Authorities is the regulatory body for hedge funds and it also sets the Investment Services Rules that stipulate the conditions a hedge fund can be registered under. Investors of Maltese hedge funds are divided into experienced investors, qualifying investors and extraordinary investors.
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What are the licensing requirements for hedge funds in Malta?
All Maltese hedge funds must apply for a collective investment scheme license as provisioned by the Investment Services Act. Hedge funds can be registered as:
- – Maltese investment companies with variable share capital (SICAV),
- – investment companies with fixed share capital (INVCO),
- – limited partnerships,
- – unit trusts,
- – common contractual funds.
The Companies Law in Malta also allows hedge funds to be constituted as cell companies. One advantage of hedge funds in Malta compared to similar funds in other EU countries is that Maltese hedge funds are only required to appoint at least one resident director, without a local administrator.
The application for a license must be drafted in a proper way and must comply with the legislation in order to be accepted by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Our experts in company registration in Malta will help you with the licensing procedure.
What are the documents required to register a hedge fund in Malta?
Once the directors and the officers of the hedge fund have been approved, the registrant must submit draft forms of the following documents:
- – the constitutive act of the hedge fund,
- – copy of the Offering Memorandum,
- – copy of the Offering Supplement,
- – a board resolution.
The board resolution must:
– confirm the director’s application for a license,
– indicate the persons conducting the application procedure and the person acting as a representative of the hedge fund in relation with the Malta Financial Services Authority,
– appoint the person in charge with overseeing all anti-money laundering regulations are complied with,
– assuming responsibility for the content of the documents submitted.
For complete information about hedge fund registration, please contact our specialists in company incorporation in Malta.