Investment Funds Services

The government of Mauritius has over the past years enacted a wide-ranging law governing all forms of financial and investment business in the jurisdiction, and by fine-tuning its framework for investment funds, Mauritius has provided greater certainty and stability to fund managers.

Mauritius adheres to all relevant international standards regarding financial regulation, tax transparency, and anti-money laundering, and is considered a blue-chip jurisdiction in the African markets.

When considering forming an investment fund in Mauritius, there are a variety of structures available to a fund manager. By far the most common one is the Global Business Corporation (GBC) where a company is either established as a stand-alone entity or as part of a multi-entity vehicle such as a master-feeder structure and is set up with limited liability which limits shareholders’ liability to the initial amount invested.

Other available structures are:

  • Trust for unit trust
    A fund structure which has been popular and seen by African fund managers for decades as advantageous from a tax and regulatory perspective.
  • Limited Partnership (LP)
    Where each limited partner’s investment is tracked in a capital account which is updated to reflect profit or loss, based on the fund’s performance for each NAV calculation date.
  • Variable Capital Company (VCC)
    The VCC is only available to fund managers. It facilitates the creation of multiple investment portfolios in the forms of incorporated or unincorporated sub-funds and Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) which is utilised to aid in structured finance in relation to a sub-fund within the same VCC.
  • Protected Cell Company (PCC)
    The PCC is not limited only to investments funds. When used as a fund structure, it allows for sub-funds to be created in the forms of cells with the advantage of limiting cross-liability.

Depending on the investment strategy and objectives, the investment vehicle is then required to be licensed as either a Collective Investment Scheme (CIS) or a Closed-end fund. Four different licences are available under the CIS to differentiate each CIS based on its investors’ profile, liquidity and risk management strategies. The four CIS licences are:

  • Global Scheme (also referred as retail scheme);
  • Expert fund;
  • Professional CIS; and
  • Specialised CIS.

The process of incorporating an investment fund starts with a planning consultation. As part of this process, a few questions are asked with the aim of determining the best structure for the fund. Talk to us.

Listing

For the listing of Funds on the Securities Exchange of Mauritius, the regulatory environment has been simplified and the admission requirements have been alleviated to ensure a smooth process and cater for the evolving industry. The general requirement for an investment entity is to invest in a wide portfolio of assets. However, collective investment schemes which have been granted a licence under the CIS Regulations 2008 by the FSC are allowed to have a more concentrated investment portfolio.

How can Blue Azurite assist you?

We offer comprehensive and professional services, spanning over the formation of the Fund, application to the Financial Services Commission (FSC) for the relevant licences, company secretarial work, providing fund administration and accounting services as well as the listing of the Company, including the application for the ISIN code and guidance if the funds are to be marketed in EU.

You need to set up a fund in Mauritius?