UCITS passporting in Slovakia

EEA Management Companies can passport the management and marketing of UCITS schemes in the Slovak Republic. Management companies, whether foreign or domestic are regulated by the Act No. 203 / 2011 Coll. on Collective Investment (the “ACI”).

Public offering of an EEA UCITS Scheme is allowed only if the National Bank of Slovakia (the “NBS”) was duly notified by the HMSA and if the EEA UCITS Scheme fulfilled the conditions for marketing to the public, i.e. the provision of information to investors, service for investors and public administration including operation of a point of contact facility.

Notification is not required in the absence of public marketing (private placement). Nor is notification required if foreign law of the HMSA provides for an applicable exception.

EEA Management Companies authorised in their EEA home State may exercise passport rights for their business activities in the Slovak Republic on a services and / or branch basis.

In both cases the EEA Management Company is required to notify its HMSA of the intention to passport its management and marketing rights. Subsequently, the HMSA delivers (i) the notification of an intention to distribute securities in the Slovak Republic, (ii) the relevant documentation, and (iii) a certificate issued by the regulator of the HMSA evidencing that the EEA Management Company complies with the UCITS Directive, to the NBS. The notification and certificate shall be submitted to the NBS in English, unless the NBS and the EEA Management Company’s HMSA agree to use another language. An EEA Management Company may begin to distribute its securities from Slovakia from the date it receives a confirmation from its HMSA stating that the notification was sent to the NBS.

For the purposes of the notification procedure, the NBS shall not be entitled to request any additional documents, certificates, or information.

The NBS currently does not require any other reporting.

EEA UCITS Schemes marketed in Slovakia must make available to investors all the documentation and information that is required for this purpose under the legislation of their home Member State. The information for the investors including KIDs must be in Slovak, as the NBS has not approved of any other language.

An EEA Management Company seeking to passport the marketing of a UCITS scheme in Slovakia shall not use false or misleading information or conceal from investors information necessary for their decision making, and be compliant with the ACI and other applicable laws. It cannot state false information on personal, technical and organisational conditions of the UCITS or the EEA Management Company.

The Directive 2019/1160 has been fully implemented into the ACI and in is in force from 2 August 2021.

Currently, there are no marketing fees.

EEA Management Companies passporting into the Slovak Republic are not required to pay any fees to the NBS in relation to the notification process.

However, an EEA Management Company shall pay an annual fee to the NBS for carrying on regulated activities. The annual fee is set by the NBS at the end of each calendar year for the following year.

The fee is calculated from the value of the assets of the EEA Management Company created and managed in Slovakia. 

In the case that the NBS issues a decision against an EEA Management Company for not complying with the rules regarding the protection of consumers, the EEA Management Company is required to pay specific fees for each issued decision. These fees are equal to one per cent of the annual fees.

The NBS also charges EEA Management Companies, as well as other regulated entities, for individual operations ordered.