A foreign collective investment undertaking which is not domiciled within the EEA or which, if it is domiciled within the EEA, is not covered by Directive 2009/65/EC (UCITS Directive), after receiving permission from Finansinspektionen, may market units in the undertaking in this country from a branch or without establishing a branch in accordance with Chapter 1, section 9 of the Investment Funds Act (2004:46).
Where applicable, Finansinspektionen's regulations (2008:11) regarding investment funds apply to the foreign collective investment undertaking's operations in Sweden.
Contents of the application
- a description of the foreign collective investment undertaking's operations and how the requirements on sound fund operations will be fulfilled in Sweden,
- information about the risk level the foreign collective investment undertaking intends to aspire to and the risk measures that are used,
- a description of how the foreign collective investment undertaking intends to fulfil the requirements on complaints management and confirmations of orders for the subscription and redemption of units in investment funds in accordance with Chapters 9 and 12b of FFFS 2008:11, and
- a description of the foreign collective investment undertaking's fee structure and all fees that are paid by the unit holders. For example, the highest, fixed management fee should be stated, including the costs that are included in this fee. Where the foreign collective investment undertaking uses performance-based fees (pbf), an example calculation and accompanying informational text should be prepared in accordance with Finansinspektionen's rapport "Fee or Performance? A review of 47 fund management companies (2006:5)" (available in Swedish) and appended to the application.
In accordance with Chapter 1, section 9 of the Investment Funds Act the application should clearly state that the foreign collective investment undertaking has taken the necessary measures in order to be able, in Sweden, to:
- make payments to unit holders,
- redeem units, and
- provide information which the undertaking is obligated to provide pursuant to the rules in its home country.
Appendices to the application
- a copy of the foreign collective investment undertaking's authorisation to conduct fund operations,
- a certificate from the competent authority in the foreign collective investment undertaking's home country which states that the undertaking is subject to supervision, describes what this supervision entails and confirms that the authority grants the undertaking permission to establish operations in Sweden,
- fund rules or articles of association, if any,
- a prospectus or the equivalent and a Key Investor Information Document (KIID) prepared in Swedish,
- the latest annual report and half-yearly reports issued thereafter, and
- where the sale and redemption of fund units is carried out by any party other than the foreign management company or the foreign collective investment undertaking, a copy of the agreement governing the relationship between the foreign management company or the foreign collective investment undertaking and any such client.
If the foreign management company has received authorisation in accordance with the UCITS Directive, no special documentation is required with regards to supervision and sound fund operations. In this case, it is sufficient to submit a certification from the competent authority in the home country which confirms that the foreign management company has received authorisation in accordance with the UCITS Directive. However, information about the foreign collective investment undertaking should always be submitted to Finansinspektionen.
Supervision
Finansinspektionen needs a description of the actual supervision activities carried out by the competent authority in the home country. For example, a description of the registration procedure is not sufficient in this context.
The supervision should be ongoing and consist of activities that are comparable to the Swedish approach. It must also be possible for Finansinspektionen to establish a satisfactory information interchange with the competent authority in the home country.
Sound fund operations
A separate description in accordance with that set out below should be appended to the application which confirms that the requirement on sound fund operations set out in Chapter 2, section 17b of the Investment Funds Act (see the reference in Chapter 1, section 10 of the Investment Funds Act) can be fulfilled. The information that should be included in such a description is provided below.
Finansinspektionen's evaluation of a foreign collective investment undertaking is conducted as if the undertaking was a Swedish non-UCITS fund. If the foreign collective investment undertaking can be approved as a Swedish non-UCITS fund, Finansinspektionen grants authorisation in accordance with Chapter 1, section 9 of the Investment Funds Act. In order for Finansinspektionen to be able to carry out its evaluation, the application must contain clear descriptions in accordance with the set out below.
Information about the foreign collective investment undertaking
- A description of the collective investments made in asset classes recognised by Swedish fund legislation using capital from the general public.
- A description of how the risk diversification principle is fulfilled, i.e. how the investment rules for the foreign collective investment undertaking deviate from Chapter 5 of the Investment Funds Act.
- Information about objective criteria for entry and exit and any minimum deposit requirements.
Information about the foreign management company
- Identification of any potential conflicts of interest and how these can be avoided.
- A description of the company's risk control function and risk management plan.
- A description of the administrative procedures.
- A description of the information systems that are used and how security issues are handled.
- Information about how the company ensures that unit holders' right of separation, i.e. that the net asset value of the fund is and remains independent of the company's own assets.
Self-managing foreign collective investment undertakings that are legal persons (SICAVs, etc.) should also submit corresponding information to that set out above for foreign management companies.
Fees
When applying for authorisation for a foreign collective investment undertaking in accordance with Chapter 1, section 9 of the Investment Funds Act to promote and sell units in foreign collective investment undertakings in Sweden, a handling fee of SEK 100,000 should be paid to Finansinspektionen. This handling fee includes the registration of one investment compartment. To register additional investment compartments in conjunction with the application, a handling fee of SEK 16,000 should be paid to Finansinspektionen for each investment compartment.
A foreign collective investment undertaking, which has received authorisation in accordance with Chapter 1, section 9 of the Investment Funds Act, is subject to Finansinspektionen's supervision and must pay an annual supervision fee of SEK 3,000 per investment compartment to Finansinspektionen.
Indicate on the payment slip what the payment refers to. Bankgiro 5050-6922.
Payment from other countries: Use our account number (IBAN) SE3312000000012810104549 at Danske Bank AB with BIC code DABASESX.
Handling times
When applying for authorisation to conduct operations in Sweden, the estimated handling time is four months from the date Finansinspektionen received a complete application and the handling fee was registered.
