1. EEA UCITS Schemes
EEA Management Companies may exercise passporting rights for the management and marketing of an EEA UCITS Scheme in the UK. In order to do so, the requirements of Section 264 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”) must be met.
An operator of an EEA UCITS Scheme, which is recognised under Section 264 of FSMA, is automatically an authorised person for the purposes of FSMA with permission to carry on the regulated activity of establishing, operating or winding up a collective investment scheme and any activity in connection with, or for the purposes of, the EEA UCITS Scheme.
Notification
An EEA Management Company seeking to passport is required to notify their HMSA if they intend on marketing an EEA UCITS Scheme in the UK. The HMSA will provide their consent notice to the relevant UK regulator; the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”).
The notification provided to the FCA must be accompanied by the EEA UCITS Scheme’s rules or instrument of incorporation, prospectus, KIID and any annual reports or biannual accounts where applicable. Following the transmission of this notification from the HMSA to the FCA, the FCA will issue its confirmation of recognition to the HMSA, from which point the EEA Management Company will be able to market the EEA UCITS Scheme in the UK.
The notification provided to the FCA is required to state the name of the firm who will market the EEA UCITS Scheme UK. The EEA Management Company is not required to seek additional permission, however, if the EEA UCITS Scheme is to be marketed by someone other than the EEA Management Company, that person will be required to be authorised for the purposes of FSMA.
An EEA Management Company proposing to market an EEA UCITS Scheme in the UK is required to maintain facilities in the UK to enable investors to obtain or inspect the documentation constituting the EEA UCITS Scheme. Details of these facilities must be included in the notification provided to the FCA. The EEA UCITS Scheme’s prospectus must also disclose the address of such facilities.
When marketing an EEA UCITS Scheme which is recognised for the purposes of FSMA in the UK, the FCA’s rules on financial promotions must be complied with. UK advice should be sought in relation to compliance with these rules.
2. Fees
The FCA charges a fee for recognition of an EEA Scheme, this is currently GBP 600. The fee is payable on the submission of the notification to the FCA. The fee is only payable in respect of the initial recognition of the EEA UCITS Scheme and is not required for the recognition of any subsequent sub-funds. In addition, periodic fees will be payable to the FCA based upon the number of funds under management, and the number of funds or sub-funds which a firm is operating and marketing into the UK. The applicable fees from time to time are set out in the FCA’s rulebook.
This section will be updated once details of the terms upon which the United Kingdom will leave the European Union become known.
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