The basic rules governing the activities of traditional funds in France are contained in:
- Monetary & Financial Codes;
- General provisions on monetary funds;
- Funds’ charters;
- Funds’ prospectus (if any).
Obtaining an Investment License in France: Licensing
Certain types of NPFs must be licensed with the AMF prior to their creation. Other NPFs, such as the FPCIs, aren’t required to meet any such requirements.
All OTC funds, whether licensed or not, are regulated and, therefore, supervised by the FMA.
Selling an Investment Fund in France
Selling traditional funds in France requires compliance with the MFC & RGAMF. They apply to the following types of investment activities:
- receiving & fulfilling orders;
- providing investment advice;
- trading in financial instruments.
Marketing these businesses comes down to applying the local RFP rules. It should be noted, though, that bidding won’t take place if investors qualify as professional clients.
Investing in non-retail funds in France is only allowed for professional investors or any investors who can invest more than one hundred thousand euros. Such rules are also applicable to professional venture funds, specialized investment funds, individuals & legal entities who have contributed more than thirty thousand euros & meet certain criteria.
Registration of an Investment Fund in France: Managers
Managers of traditional funds must comply with licensing requirements applicable to other types of funds.
Since such structures aren’t intended for retail activities & qualify as AIFs, their managers must obtain an AIFM license in Europe.
The scope of the license will depend on the type of investment strategy implemented by funds.
A license is issued for a specific investment strategy. This means that a fund manager authorized to manage professional venture funds must obtain additional permission to manage AIFs.
Taxation
Each type of investment instrument is subject to specific tax rules:
- Funds that don’t have the legal entity status aren’t taxed.
- Funds that have the legal entity status must pay an income tax for legal entities; however, they may be eligible for special benefits & be exempted from such taxation.
Capital gains earned by resident investors are generally taxed.
Considering establishing a traditional fund in France? Need advice on the regulation of traditional funds in France? Why not contact IQ Decision UK?
