Introduction on funds

Investment funds operate under a specific structure which generally consists of a fund or ‘pool of assets’, a management company and a depositary. The fund is the capital which, once raised from investors through the issuance of ‘units’ or ‘shares’, is invested collectively in securities or other assets, in accordance with a determined investment policy. The key characteristic of a fund is that the returns generated by the collective investment are ‘pooled’ for the benefit of all investors in the fund, who therefore benefit from economies of scale, lower trading costs and diversification. Depending on the national law, a fund may have legal personality or not. If it has legal personality, it is entitled to manage its own investments and in this case, it is usually referred to as an investment company. Otherwise, the investments of the fund are entrusted to a distinct entity, the management company. Finally, the depositary is a separate entity whose primary role is to act as a custodian and therefore to safe-keep the assets of the fund. The depositary also controls the regularity of management acts and decisions taken by the management company.