GUERNSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Matthew Brehaut, Carey Olsen
Authorised Funds Authorised fund types are as follows.
• “registered funds”, which are registered with the GFSC; and • “authorised funds”, which are authorised by the GFSC. Essentially, the difference between authorised funds and registered funds is that authorised funds receive their authorisation following a sub - stantive review of their suitability by the GFSC, whereas registered funds follow a “fast track” regime whereby they receive their registration following a representation of suitability from a Guernsey body holding a POI Law licence. Such body would be the administrator, which scrutinises the fund and its promoter in lieu of the GFSC, and which takes on the ongoing responsibility for monitoring the fund – effective - ly a form of “self-certification” by a Guernsey licensed administrator. One exception to this is authorised funds which opt into the “qualifying investor fund” regime – these also benefit from the “fast track” regime (although only “qualified investors” may invest into a “qualifying investor fund”). The rules governing the different classes of Guernsey funds also distinguish between wheth - er they are open-ended or closed-ended (or can choose from either). A Guernsey fund is open- ended if the investors are entitled to have their units redeemed or repurchased by the fund at a price related to the value of the property to which they relate (ie, the NAV). The POI Law grants the GFSC the ability to develop different classes of authorised and reg - istered funds, and to determine the rules appli - cable to such classes. The following types of authorised and registered funds are currently available.
• Class A: retail funds offering. Class A funds have largely been superseded by the AIFMD regime. These are open-ended only. • Class B: these can be structured as retail products marketed to the public, or estab - lished as strictly private or institutional funds. They are open-ended only. • Class Q: these are not retail funds as they can only be beneficially owned by qualifying professional investors (essentially, govern - ment bodies or high net worth individuals or entities, with a minimum investment of USD100,000). They are open-ended only. • ACIS: authorised closed-ended investment schemes. These are closed-ended funds which are subject to the GFSC’s permanent and continuing supervision. Registered Funds Registered fund types are as follows. • RCIS funds: registered closed-ended invest - ment schemes, commonly referred to as “registered funds” (as they were the only type of registered fund until the introduction of private investment funds). RCIS funds may be open- or closed-ended. • Private investment funds (PIFs): intended for funds with a small number of investors. They are not suitable to be used as retail funds. Originally introduced in 2016, there are now three types of PIFs, as follows. Route 1 The “POI Licensed Manager” PIF is suited to fund managers that have a closer relationship with their investors. Its distinguishing features include:
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