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COLL 8.3 Investor relations

Application

COLL 8.3.1RRP

Drawing up and availability of prospectus

COLL 8.3.2RRP
  1. (1)

    An authorised fund manager must ensure that a prospectus of a qualified investor scheme is drawn up which contains the information, specified in COLL 8.3.4 R (Table: contents of qualified investor scheme prospectus), and the authorised fund manager must:

    1. (a)

      revise the prospectus immediately upon the occurrence of any materially significant change in the information required to be stated within it;

    2. (b)

      include the date of any revision in a prominent manner in the revised prospectus;2

      2
    3. (c)

      send a copy of the original and any revised prospectus to the FSA; and2

      2
    4. (d)

      review the prospectus periodically and revise it to take account of any significant change or new matter.2

  2. (1A)

    16A full-scope UK AIFM that is the authorised fund manager of a qualified investor scheme must also ensure that the prospectus contains the information for investors required by:

    1. (i)

      16FUND 3.2.2R and FUND 3.2.3R (Prior disclosure of information to investors); and

    2. (ii)

      16FUND 3.2.5R and FUND 3.2.6R (Periodic disclosure), unless the up-to-date information has been published in the scheme’s most recent annual report or half-yearly report.

  3. (2)

    The prospectus must not contain any provision which is unfairly prejudicial to the interests of unitholders generally or to the unitholders of any class of units.

  4. (3)

    An ICVC or the authorised fund manager11 of an AUT or ACS11 must offer a copy of the scheme's most recent prospectus free of charge to any person eligible to invest in a qualified investor scheme prior to the purchase of any units.

    11

False or misleading prospectus

COLL 8.3.3RRP

The authorised fund manager must ensure that the prospectus does not contain any untrue or misleading statement or omit any matter required by the rules in this sourcebook to be included in it.

Table: contents of qualified investor scheme prospectus

COLL 8.3.4RRP

This table belongs to COLL 8.3.2 R.

1

Document status

A statement that this document is the prospectus of the authorised fund valid as at a particular date which shall be the date of the document.

2

Description of the authorised fund

Information detailing:

(1)

the name of the authorised fund;

16(1A)

its FCA product reference number (PRN);

(2)

that the authorised fund is either an ICVC, ACS11 or an AUT;

(3)

that the scheme is a qualified investor scheme;

(4)

where relevant, that the unitholders in an ICVC are not liable for the debts of the authorised fund;

(5)

where relevant, the address of the ICVC's head office and the address in the United Kingdom for service on the ICVC of documents required or authorised to be served on it;

(6)

the effective date of the authorisation order made by the FCA and, if the duration of the authorised fund is not unlimited, when it will or may terminate;

(7)

the base currency for the authorised fund;

(8)

where relevant, the maximum and minimum sizes of the ICVC's capital;

11

(9)

the circumstances in which the authorised fund may be wound up under the rules in COLL and a summary of the procedure for, and the rights of unitholders under, such a winding up; and11

11

(10)11

for an ACS that is a limited partnership scheme, the address of the proposed principal place of business of the limited partnership scheme.

3

Investment objectives and policy

(1)

Sufficient information to enable a unitholder to ascertain:

(a)

the investment objectives of the authorised fund;

(b)

the authorised fund's investment policy for achieving those investment objectives, including:

(i)

the general nature of the portfolio and any intended specialisation;

(ii)

the policy for the spreading of risk in the scheme property; and

(iii)

the policy in relation to the exercise of borrowing powers;

(c)

a description of any restrictions in the assets in which investment may be made; and

(d)

the extent (if any) to which that investment policy does not envisage remaining fully invested at all times.

(2)

For investment in immovables :

(a)

the countries or territories of immovables in which the authorised fund may invest;

(b)

the policy of the authorised fund manager in relation to insurance of immovables forming part of the scheme property; and

(c)

the policy of the authorised fund manager in relation to the granting of options over immovables in the scheme property and the purchase of options on immovables.

(3)

If intended, whether the scheme property may consist of units in collective investment schemes ("second schemes") which are managed by or operated by the authorised fund manager or by one of its associates and a statement as:

(a)

to the basis of the maximum amount of the charges in respect of transactions in a second scheme; and

(b)

the extent to which any such charges will be reimbursed to the scheme.

(4)

If intended, whether the scheme may enter into stock lending transactions and, if so, what procedures will operate and what collateral will be required.

(5)

Where a scheme is a feeder scheme which (in respect of investment in units in a single collective investment scheme) is dedicated to units in a collective investment scheme, details of the master scheme and the minimum (and, if relevant, maximum) investment that the feeder scheme may make in it;8

(6)

Where the scheme is a money market fund or a short-term money market fund, a statement identifying it as such a fund and a statement that the scheme's investment objectives and policies will meet the conditions in the definition of money market fund or short-term money market fund, as appropriate.9

4

Distributions and accounting dates

Relevant details of accounting and distribution dates and a description of the procedures:

(1)

for determining and applying income (including how any distributable income is paid); and

(2)

relating to unclaimed distributions.

5

The characteristics of units in the authorised fund

Information as to:

(1)

the names of the classes of units in issue or available for issue and the rights attached to them in so far as they vary from the rights attached to other classes;

(2)

how unitholders may exercise their voting rights and what these are; and

(3)

the circumstances where a mandatory redemption, cancellation or conversion of units from one class to another may be required.11

115A

Issue of units in ACSs: eligible investors

(1)

A statement that units may not be issued to a person other than to a person :

12

(a)

who 12is a:

(i)

professional ACS investor; or

(ii)

large ACS investor; or

(iii)

person who already holds units in the scheme; and

(b)

to whom units in a qualified investor scheme may be promoted under COBS 4.12.4 R.12

12

(2)

A statement that the authorised contractual scheme manager of an ACS must redeem units as soon as practicable after becoming aware that those units are vested in anyone (whether as a result of subscription or transfer of units) other than a person meeting the criteria in (1).

115B

Transfer of units in ACSs

(1)

A statement whether the transfer of units in the ACS scheme is either:

(a)

prohibited; or

(b)

allowed;

by the instrument constituting the fund13 and prospectus.

13

(2)

A statement that where transfer of units is allowed by the instrument constituting the fund13 and prospectus in accordance with (1)(b), units may only be transferred in accordance with the conditions specified by FCA rules, including that units may not be transferred to a person other than a person :

1312

(a)

who 12is a:

(i)

professional ACS investor; or

(ii)

large ACS investor; or

(iii)

person who already holds units in the scheme; and

(b)

to whom units in a qualified investor scheme may be promoted under COBS 4.12.4 R.12

12

(3)

For a co-ownership scheme which is an umbrella, a statement in accordance with (1)(a) or (1)(b) and, where appropriate, a statement in accordance with (2), must also be made for the sub-funds. Where individual sub-funds have differing policies in relation to transfer of units, separate statements are required.

6

The authorised fund manager

The following particulars of the authorised fund manager:

(1)

its name and the nature of its corporate form;

(2)

the country or territory of its incorporation;

(3)

the date of its incorporation and if the duration of its corporate status is limited, when that status will or may cease;

(4)

if it is a subsidiary, the name of its ultimate holding company and the country or territory in which that holding company is incorporated;

(5)

the address of its registered office, its head office, and, if different, the address of its principal place of business in the United Kingdom;

(6)

the amount of its issued share capital and how much of it is paid up;

(7)

for an ICVC, a summary of the material provisions of the contract between the ICVC and the authorised fund manager which may be relevant to unitholders including provisions (if any) relating to termination, compensation on termination and indemnity; and

(8)

for an AUT, the names of the directors of the authorised fund manager.11

11

7

Directors of an ICVC, other than the ACD

Other than for the ACD:

(1)

the names and positions in the ICVC of the directors; and

(2)

the manner, amount and calculation of the remuneration of the directors.

8

The depositary

The following particulars of the depositary:

(1)

its name and the nature of its corporate form;

(2)

the country or territory of its incorporation;

(3)

the address of its registered office and the address of its head office if that is different from the address of its registered office; and

(4)

if neither its registered office nor its head office is in the United Kingdom, the address of its principal place of business in the United Kingdom.

9

The investment adviser

If an investment adviser is retained in connection with the business of the authorised fund, its name and whether or not it is authorised by the FCA.

10

The auditor

The name of the auditor of the authorised fund.

11

The register of Unitholders

Details of the address in the United Kingdom where the register of unitholders is kept and can be inspected by unitholders.

12

Payments out of the scheme property

The payments that may be made out of the scheme property to any person whether by way of remuneration for services, or reimbursement of expense and for each category of remuneration or expense, the following should be specified:

(1)

the current rates or amounts of such remuneration;

(2)

how the remuneration will be calculated and accrue and when it will be paid;

(3)

if notice has been given to unitholders of the authorised fund manager's intention to:

(a)

introduce a new category of remuneration for its services; or

(b)

increase the basis of any current charge; or

(c)

change the basis of the treatment of a payment from the capital property set out in COLL 8.5.13 R (2) (Payments);

particulars of that introduction or increase and when it will take place;

(4)

the types of any other charges and expenses that may be taken out of the scheme property; and

(5)

if, in accordance with COLL 8.5.13 R (2), all or part of the remuneration or expense are to be treated as a capital charge:

(a)

that fact; and

(b)

the basis of the charge which may be so treated

13

Dealing

Details of:

(1)

the dealing days and times in the dealing day on which the authorised fund manager will receive requests for the sale and redemption of units;

(2)

the procedures for effecting:

(a)

the issue and cancellation of units;

(b)

the sale and redemption of units; and

(c)

the settlement of transactions;

(3)

the steps required to be taken by a unitholder in redeeming units before he can receive the proceeds including any relevant notice periods and the circumstances and periods where a deferral of payment as provided in COLL 8.5.11 R (3) (Sale and redemption) may be applied;

(4)

the circumstances in which the redemption of units may be suspended;

(5)

the days and times in the day on which recalculation of the price will commence;

(6)

details of the minimum number or value of each type of unit in the authorised fund which:

(a)

any one person may hold; and

(b)

may be the subject of any one transaction of sale or redemption;

(7)

the circumstances in which the authorised fund manager may arrange for, and the procedure for, a redemption of units in specie;

(8)

the circumstances in which the further issue of units in any particular class may be limited and the procedures relating to this:66

(9)

the circumstances in which direct issue or cancellation of units by the ICVC or the depositary of an AUT or ACS11 (as appropriate) may occur and the relevant procedures for such issues and cancellations; and66

11

(10)

6whether a unitholder may effect transfer of title to units on the authority of an electronic communication and if so the conditions that must be satisfied in order to effect a transfer.6

14

Valuation of scheme property

Details as to:

(1)

how frequently and at what times of the day the scheme property will be regularly valued to determine the price at which units in the scheme may be purchased from or redeemed by the authorised fund manager and a description of any circumstance where the scheme property may be specially valued;

(2)

in relation to each purpose for which the scheme property must be valued, the basis on which it will be valued; and

(3)

how the price of units of each class will be determined, including a statement that 16a forward price 16 basis is to be applied.

15

Sale and redemption charges

If the authorised fund manager makes any charges on sale or redemption of units, details of the charging structure and how notice will be provided to unitholders of any increase.

15A5

Property Authorised Investment Funds

For a property authorised investment fund, a statement that:

(1)

it is a property authorised investment fund;

(2)

no body corporate may seek to obtain or intentionally maintain a holding of more than 10% of the net asset value of the fund; and

(3)

in the event that the authorised fund manager reasonably considers that a body corporate holds more than 10% of the net asset value of the fund, the authorised fund manager is entitled to delay any redemption or cancellation of units if the authorised fund manager reasonably considers such action to be:

(a)

necessary in order to enable an orderly reduction of the holding to below 10%; and

(b)

in the interests of the unitholders as a whole.

16

General information

Details as to:

(1)

when annual and half- yearly reports will be published; and

(2)

the address at which copies of the instrument constituting the fund,13 any amending instrument and the most recent annual reports may be inspected and from which copies may be obtained.

13

17

Information on the umbrella

In the case of a scheme which is an umbrella, the following information:

(1)

that a unitholder may exchange units in one sub-fund for units in another sub-fund and that such an exchange is treated as a redemption and sale;

(2)

what charges may be made on exchanging units in one sub-fund for units in other sub-funds;

(3)

the policy for allocating between sub-funds any assets of, or costs, charges and expenses payable out of, the scheme property which are not attributable to any particular sub-fund;

(4)

in respect of each sub-fund, the currency in which the scheme property allocated to it will be valued and the price of units calculated and payments made, if this currency is not the base currency of the umbrella; 16

(5)

for an ICVC or a co-ownership scheme,11 that:10

10

10(a)

for an ICVC,11 its sub-funds are segregated portfolios of assets and, accordingly, the assets of a sub-fund belong exclusively to that sub-fund and shall not be used to discharge directly or indirectly the liabilities of, or claims against, any other person or body, including the umbrella, or any other sub-fund, and shall not be available for any such purpose;

11

11(aa)

for a co-ownership scheme, the property subject to a sub-fund is beneficially owned by the participants in that sub-fund as tenants in common (or, in Scotland, is the common property of the participants in that sub-fund) and must not be used to discharge any liabilities of, or meet any claims against, any person other than the participants in that sub-fund; and

10(b)

for an ICVC or a co-ownership scheme,11 while the provisions of the OEIC Regulations, and section 261P (Segregated liability in relation to umbrella co-ownership schemes) of the Act in the case of co-ownership schemes,11 provide for segregated liability between sub-funds, the concept of segregated liability is relatively new. Accordingly, where claims are brought by local creditors in foreign courts or under foreign law contracts, it is not yet known how those foreign courts will react to regulations 11A and 11B of the OEIC Regulations or, as the case may be, section 261P of the Act; and16

1111

16(6)

the FCA product reference number (PRN) of each sub-fund.

18

Application of the prospectus contents to an umbrella

For a scheme which is an umbrella, information required must be stated:

(1)

in relation to each sub-fund where the information for any sub-fund differs from that for any other; and

(2)

for the umbrella as a whole, but only where the information is relevant to the umbrella as a whole.

318A

Investment in overseas4 property through an intermediate holding vehicle3

If investment in an overseas4 immovable is to be made through an intermediate holding vehicle or a series of intermediate holding vehicles a statement disclosing the existence of that intermediate holding vehicle or series of intermediate holding vehicles and confirming that the purpose of that intermediate holding vehicle or series of intermediate holding vehicles is to enable the holding of overseas4 immovables by the scheme.3

1118B

Information on authorised contractual schemes

A statement that:

(1)

a unitholder in a co-ownership scheme is not liable to make any further payment after he has paid the price of his units and that no further liability can be imposed on him in respect of the units he holds;

(2)

a unitholder in a limited partnership scheme is not liable for the debts or obligations of the limited partnership scheme beyond the amount of the scheme property which is available to the authorised contractual scheme manager to meet such debts or obligations, provided that the unitholder does not take part in the management of the partnership business;

(3)

the exercise of rights conferred on limited partners by FCA rules does not constitute taking part in the management of the partnership business; and

(4)

the scheme property of a co-ownership scheme is beneficially owned by the participants as tenants in common (or, in Scotland, is the common property of the participants).

19

Additional information

Any other material information which is within the knowledge of the directors11 of an ICVC or the authorised fund manager11 of an AUT or ACS11, or which the directors or authorised fund manager11 would have obtained by the making of reasonable enquiries which investors and their professional advisers would reasonably require, and reasonably expect to find in the prospectus, for the purpose of making an informed judgement about the merits of investing in the authorised fund and the extent and characteristics of the risks accepted by so participating.

111111

Pre-sale information to be made available on securities financing transactions and total return swaps

COLL 8.3.4AGRP
  1. (1)

    15The Securities Financing Transactions Regulation sets out the additional information which an authorised fund manager who is a full-scope UK AIFM of a qualified investor scheme must make available to investors before they invest.

  2. (2)

    COLL 4.2.5BEU and COLL 4.2.5CEU copy out the relevant provisions of that regulation.

  3. (3)

    An authorised fund manager who is a full-scope UK AIFM of a qualified investor scheme should publish the information in the scheme prospectus.

  4. (4)

    An authorised fund manager of a qualified investor scheme that does not use securities financing transactions or total return swaps is not required to include the information in COLL 4.2.5CEU in the prospectus or other pre-sale documents.

[Note: A transitional provision applies to COLL 8.3.4AG: see COLL TP 1.39G]

Report and accounts

COLL 8.3.5RRP
  1. (1)

    The authorised fund manager must prepare a report in respect of each annual accounting period and half-yearly accounting period.

  2. (2)

    [deleted]1

  3. (2A)

    Where the first annual accounting period of a scheme is less than 12 months, a half-yearly report need not be prepared.2

  4. (3)

    The authorised fund manager must within a reasonable time after the end of each relevant accounting period, publish the annual report and half-yearly report and provide a copy free of charge on request to any unitholder.

  5. (3A)

    16The timing of the publication of the annual report in (3) is subject to FUND 3.3.3R if the authorised fund manager is a full-scope UK AIFM.

  6. (4)

    [deleted]2

    2
  7. (5)

    The authorised fund manager must provide free of charge on the request of any person eligible to invest in the scheme2 a copy of the latest annual or half-yearly report before the conclusion of any sale to such person2.

    22
  8. (6)

    The authorised fund manager must provide a copy of each annual and half-yearly report to the FCA.

  9. (7)

    For a scheme which is an umbrella, any annual report provided under (3) or (5) may be a report prepared under COLL 8.3.5AR (3), but the authorised fund manager must nevertheless provide free of charge the report prepared under COLL 8.3.5AR (2) if a unitholder or any other person eligible to invest in the scheme requests it.2

2Contents of the annual report

COLL 8.3.5ARRP
  1. (1)

    An annual report, other than for a scheme which is an umbrella, must contain:

    1. (a)

      the accounts for the annual accounting period prepared in accordance with the requirements of the IMA SORP;

      7
    2. (b)

      the report of the authorised fund manager in accordance with COLL 8.3.5C R (Authorised fund manager's report);

    3. (bA)

      comparative information in accordance with COLL 4.5.10R (1A) and (2A) (Comparative information);14

    4. (c)

      the report of the depositary in accordance with COLL 8.3.5D R (Report of the depositary); and

    5. (d)

      the report of the auditor in accordance with COLL 4.5.12 R (Report of the auditor).

  2. (2)

    An annual report on a scheme which is an umbrella must be prepared for the umbrella as a whole and must contain:

    1. (a)

      for each sub-fund:14

      714
      1. (i)

        the accounts required by (1)(a);14

      2. (ii)

        the report of the authorised fund manager in accordance with COLL 8.3.5C R; and14

      3. (iii)

        comparative information in accordance with COLL 4.5.10R (1A) and (2A)14

    2. (b)

      [deleted]14

      14
    3. (c)

      the report of the depositary in accordance with COLL 8.3.5D R; and

    4. (d)

      the report of the auditor in accordance with COLL 4.5.12 R.

  3. (3)

    The authorised fund manager of a scheme which is an umbrella may, in addition to complying with (2), prepare a further annual report for any one or more individual sub-funds of the umbrella, in which case it must contain:

    1. (a)

      for the sub-fund:14

      714
      1. (i)

        the accounts required by (1)(a);14

      2. (ii)

        the report of the authorised fund manager in accordance with COLL 8.3.5C R; and14

      3. (iii)

        comparative information in accordance with COLL 4.5.10R (1A) and (2A);14

    2. (b)

      the report of the depositary in accordance with COLL 8.3.5D R; and

    3. (c)

      the report of the auditor in accordance with COLL 4.5.12 R.

  4. (4)

    The directors of an ICVC or the authorised fund manager11 of an AUT or ACS11 must ensure that the accounts referred to in (1)(a), (2)(a) and (3)(a) give a true and fair view of the net revenue7 and the net capital7 gains or7 losses on the scheme property of the authorised fund or sub-fund for the relevant annual accounting period, and of the financial position of the authorised fund or sub-fund as at the end of that period.

    1177

2Contents of the half-yearly report

COLL 8.3.5BRRP
  1. (1)

    A half-yearly report on an authorised fund or sub-fund must contain:

    1. (a)

      the accounts for the half-yearly accounting period which must be prepared in accordance with the requirements of the IMA SORP; and

      7
    2. (b)

      the report of the authorised fund manager in accordance with COLL 8.3.5C R.

  2. (2)

    For a scheme which is an umbrella, the authorised fund manager may choose whether the half-yearly report is prepared for the umbrella as a whole, or for each individual sub-fund, or both.

2Authorised fund manager's report

COLL 8.3.5CRRP

The report of the authorised fund manager must include:

  1. (1)

    a review of the investment activities during the period to which the report relates;

  2. (1A)

    a portfolio statement prepared in accordance with the requirements of the IMA SORP;14

  3. (1B)

    in the case of an umbrella which has more than one sub-fund, particulars in the form of a table showing, as at the end of the period to which the report relates:14

    1. (a)

      for each sub-fund, the number of units in that sub-fund that were held by a second sub-fund of that umbrella; and

    2. (b)

      the value of each such holding;

    or, alternatively, a statement that there were no such holdings as at the end of that period;

  4. (2)

    particulars of any fundamental or significant change to the authorised fund made since the date of the last report; and

  5. (3)

    any other information which would enable unitholders to make an informed judgement on the development of the activities of the authorised fund during the period and the results of those activities as at the end of the period.

2Report of the depositary

COLL 8.3.5DRRP
  1. (1)

    The depositary must make an annual report to unitholders which must be included in the annual report.

  2. (2)

    The depositary's report must contain:

    1. (a)

      a description, which may be in summary form, of the duties of the depositary under COLL 8.5.4 R (Duties of the depositary) and in respect of the safekeeping of the scheme property; and

    2. (b)

      a statement whether in any material respect:

      1. (i)

        the issue, sale, redemption and cancellation and calculation of the price of the units and the application of the authorised fund's revenue7, have not been carried out in accordance with the rules in this sourcebook and, where applicable, the OEIC Regulations and the instrument constituting the fund;13 and

        713
      2. (ii)

        the investment and borrowing powers and restrictions applicable to the authorised fund have been exceeded.

7Signing of annual and half-yearly reports

COLL 8.3.5ERRP

The annual reports in COLL 8.3.5AR (1) and (2) and the half-yearly reports in COLL 8.3.5BR (1) must:

  1. (1)

    in the case of an ICVC, if there is:

    1. (a)

      more than one director, be approved by the board of directors and signed on their behalf by the ACD and at least one other director; or

    2. (b)

      no director other than the ACD, be signed by the ACD;

  2. (2)

    in the case of an AUT or ACS11, if the authorised fund manager has:

    1. (a)

      more than one director, be signed by at least two directors of the authorised fund manager; or

    2. (b)

      only one director, be signed by the director of the authorised fund manager.

Alterations to the scheme and notices to Unitholders

COLL 8.3.6RRP
  1. (1)

    Any proposed change which would be reasonably considered to be a fundamental change to the scheme requires the prior sanction of an ordinary resolution of the unitholders.

  2. (2)

    Any proposed change to the scheme which is not within (1) but which would be reasonably considered to be significant, requires the giving of reasonable notice to Unitholders to become effective.

  3. (3)

    Alterations affecting only a particular sub-fund or class of units may be approved in accordance with (1) or (2) for the particular sub-fund or class of units, with the consent of, or, as the case may be, notice to, the relevant unitholders.

  4. (4)

    This rule and COLL 8.3.8 R (Meetings) will apply (unless the context requires otherwise) to alterations concerning unitholders of a particular sub-fund or class of units rather than the scheme or sub-fund as a whole.

Alterations to the scheme and notices to Unitholders: guidance

COLL 8.3.7GRP

Although account should be taken of the guidance on fundamental changes (COLL 4.3.5 G (Guidance on fundamental changes)) and significant changes (COLL 4.3.7 G (Guidance on significant changes)) the impact of any change to the scheme should be assessed individually based on the nature of the scheme and its investor profile.

Meetings

COLL 8.3.8RRP
  1. (1)

    Details of the procedures for the convening and conducting of meetings and resolutions must be set out in the instrument constituting the fund13 and be reasonable and fair as between all relevant parties.

    13
  2. (2)

    The authorised fund manager must record and keep minutes for six years of all proceedings to which COLL 8.3.6 R (Alterations to the scheme and notices to Unitholders) and this rule are relevant.

  3. (3)

    The provisions in COLL 4.4.12 R (Notices to Unitholders), COLL 4.4.13 R (Other notices) and COLL 4.4.14 G (References to writing and electronic documents) apply in relation to qualified investor schemes.