A SICAV is a
collective investment scheme
An investment fund is a way of investment, investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These ad ...
common in Western Europe, especially
Luxembourg
Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
,
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
,
Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
,
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...
. SICAV is an acronym in
French for ''société d'investissement à capital variable'', which can be translated as 'investment company with variable capital and securities (government bonds, stocks, corporate bonds)'.
It is similar to an
open-ended mutual fund
A mutual fund is an investment fund that pools money from many investors to purchase Security (finance), securities. The term is typically used in the United States, Canada, and India, while similar structures across the globe include the SICAV in ...
in the United States, while a ''sociedad de inversión de capital fijo'' or ''société d'investissement à capital fixe'' (
SICAF) is similar to a
closed-end fund
A closed-end fund (CEF), also known as a closed-end mutual fund, is an investment vehicle fund that raises capital by issuing a fixed number of shares at its inception, and then invests that capital in financial assets such as stocks and bonds. ...
. As in the case of other open-end collective investment schemes (such as contractual funds), the investor is in principle entitled at all times to request the redemption of their units and payment of the redemption amount in cash.
SICAVs are increasingly being cross-border marketed in the
EU under the
UCITS directive.
SICAV names in various languages
*
Czech ''akciová společnost s proměnným základním kapitálem''
*
Dutch ''Beleggingsvennootschap met veranderlijk kapitaal''
*
German ''Investmentgesellschaft mit variablem Kapital''
*
Italian ''società d'investimento a capitale variabile''
*
Spanish ''sociedad de inversión de capital variable''
SICAV/Open-end Collective Investment in Switzerland
According to the Swiss Federal Act on Collective Investment Schemes (Collective Investment Schemes Act - CISA), an open-ended collective investment scheme may be in the form of a contractual fund or an investment company with variable capital (SICAV).
With open-ended collective investment schemes, investors have either a direct or indirect legal entitlement, at the expense of the collective assets, to redeem their units at the
net asset value
Net asset value (NAV) is the value of an entity's assets minus the value of its Liability (financial accounting), liabilities, often in relation to open-end fund, open-end, mutual fund, mutual funds, Hedge fund, hedge funds, and Venture capital, v ...
.
Each open-ended collective investment scheme has its own fund regulations (often referred to also as
prospectus). Contractual funds are regulated by the collective investment contract (e. g., fund contract). In SICAVs, it is the articles of association and the investment regulations.
SICAVs in Spain
In
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
, a SICAV is a
public limited company
A public limited company (legally abbreviated to PLC or plc) is a type of public company under United Kingdom company law, some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth jurisdictions, and Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is a limited liability co ...
whose object is to invest in financial assets. SICAVs have great
tax advantages, paying corporate income tax (
corporation tax) at a rate of just 1%. Nonetheless, they have to fulfill several requirements:
* Number of stockholders no fewer than 100.
* Restrictions on investments.
* Capital may vary between the minimum and maximum established by the
articles of association
In corporate governance, a company's articles of association (AoA, called articles of incorporation in some jurisdictions) is a document that, along with the memorandum of association (where applicable), forms the company's constitution. The ...
.
* Minimum capital of €2,400,000.
* Oversight and supervision is carried out by the
Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores and the Dirección General del Tesoro y Política Financiera.
In the
Basque Country and
Navarre, the autonomous regional tax authorities have raised the corporate income tax for SICAVs to that of the rest of corporations (up to 28%).
As a result, the Basque and Navarrese SICAVs have changed their sites to the rest of Spain or the European Union.
Así se pasa de 200 a 0 sicav: País Vasco muestra el camino a Navarra
', Pedro Calvo, 7 November 2015, El Confidencial.
See also
*
Collective investment scheme
An investment fund is a way of investment, investing money alongside other investors in order to benefit from the inherent advantages of working as part of a group such as reducing the risks of the investment by a significant percentage. These ad ...
s
*
Financial services
Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...
*
ICVC (the UK equivalent)
*
Investment
Investment is traditionally defined as the "commitment of resources into something expected to gain value over time". If an investment involves money, then it can be defined as a "commitment of money to receive more money later". From a broade ...
*
Open-end fund
Open-end fund (or open-ended fund) is a collective investment scheme that can issue and redeem shares at any time. An investor will generally purchase shares in the fund directly from the fund itself, rather than from the existing shareholders. ...
(the US equivalent)
References
* M. P. Gentili, S. Jannoni, M. Mastrangelo, ''The SICAVs — Luxembourg UCITS and non-UCITS investment companies'', Bancaria Editrice - Roma, 2011
{{Investment-management
Investment funds