Investment Funds & Asset Management
Malta is recognised as one of Europe’s top domiciles for investment funds and asset management.
KPIs
FUNDS IN MALTA
Malta's strengths lie in the jurisdiction having established itself as the home of fund managers and administrators, while providing an environment that is attractive to smaller funds and start-up managers
Malta has long been an established jurisdiction for alternative investment funds, and its fund regime has all bases covered, as managers are allowed to run funds under the island’s PIF regime, outside the scope of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) under the AIFMD, as well as EU-compliant and globally recognised UCITS schemes. In 2016, Malta introduced the Notified AIF (NAIF) regime. The sector gained momentum due to increased asset management and fund servicing activity, with Malta‘s flexible and pro-business attitude helping to consolidate the island’s claim for prominence as a fund jurisdiction. In fact, fund service providers recently voted the island as their favoured European fund domicile. As more offshore funds choose to move into regulated onshore jurisdictions, Malta is poised to win a significant share of the business seeking an EU location.
Investment funds (including sub-funds) registered in Malta
- AIFs: 129
- Notified AIFs: 55
- PIFs:358
- UCITs: 106
- Retail non-UCITS: 5
Net Asset Value of Malta domiciled Funds: €15.4 billion (December 2019)
- AIFs: €6.9 billion
- PIFs: €5.0 billion
- UCITs: €3.1 billion
- Other CISs: €0.4 billion
Administration of Funds
- No. of funds administered in Malta: 87.3%
- No. of funds administered from outside Malta: 12.7%
Management of licensed Funds
- Self-managed: 38.2%
- Managed in Malta: 37.06%
- Managed from outside Malta: 24.66%
Why Malta for Investment Funds & Asset Management | 2023 Edition
Investment Funds & Asset Management – Our Sector at a Glance
EU passporting rights, a variety of fund types, and cost-effective platform solutions. These are just some of the reasons asset managers and fund promoters are turning to Malta. Discover the breadth and depth of our constantly evolving investment funds and asset management sector.
- A Versatile Range of Fund Products
We offer a wide range of fund products that can be tailored to meet the various needs of global fund initiators. Managers are allowed to run EU-compliant and globally recognised UCITS schemes. However, our forte is in alternative asset management. In this space, funds may be licensed as either Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) or as Professional Investor Funds (PIFs). AIFs appeal to fund promoters wishing to passport the fund throughout the EU under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The PIF licence is the licence of choice for smaller funds (managed by De Minimis EU-based Managers, Managers based outside the EU, or self-managed funds that are “below the threshold“), which benefit from certain exemptions contained in the AIFMD. Our portfolio also includes a manager-led product, the Notified AIF or NAIF, which has been designed to speed up time-to-market and can be registered within 10 days.
- Innovative Legal Structures
Investment funds can be set up in a number of possible legal forms, including open-ended and closed-ended corporate entities, unit trusts, contractual funds, and limited partnerships. The investment company with variable share capital (SICAV) is to date the most widely used legal form, and it can be structured to include master-feeder funds and umbrella funds with segregated sub-funds. Whereas the multi-fund SICAV allows the creation of sub-funds whose assets and liabilities constitute a distinct patrimony from those of other sub-funds and the SICAV itself, we also introduced Incorporated Cell Companies (ICCs) and the Recognised Incorporated Cell Company (RICC), which has become the structure of choice for those seeking plug and play solutions. In this structure, the ‘core’ can provide, in exchange for payment of a platform fee, certain administrative services to its incorporated cells. The RICC is in particular popular among smaller managers and start-up funds.
- An Asset Servicing Location
Whether you are a small or large investment fund that wishes to outsource fund administration, compliance, regulatory reporting, or your entire back and middle office, you should consider Malta. Throughout the years, we have developed a wealth of international service expertise. Our asset management and asset servicing clusters have become renowned for their knowledge, commitment, and highly cost-competitive offering. Fund managers and fund administrators based in Malta today service funds in many other locations.
- EU Asset Management Hub
Asset managers wishing to access both the retail and the institutional marketplace in the European Union can benefit from flexible structures, including Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) and UCITS management companies, which allow fund managers to manage and markets funds across the EU. Due to the moderate costs of doing business on the island, we are a particularly attractive location for emerging and start-up managers.
- Service Provider Flexibility
Our commitment to flexibility and innovation does not stop at the fund level but extends to the service provider sphere. Funds registered in Malta are not required to appoint a local administrator. This non-protectionist approach gives promoters the flexibility to work with institutions with which they have already established a business relationship. Nevertheless, a high percentage of funds opt to have a Maltese administrator; a clear testament to the high quality of service provided by local administrators. The same applies for custodians providing safe-keeping arrangements to Professional Investor Funds; PIFs do not need to appoint local service providers. In addition, our legislation allows for funds to opt for the self-managed route as an alternative to external third-party management.
Further information on the tax regime in Malta can be found here: https://cfr.gov.mt/en/Pages/Home.aspx