Ucits III Funds - UCITS 3 Funds

Here are some links to some ufeful UCITS III guides

Ernst & Young - UCITS III - A Practical Guide:

http://www.ey.com/Global/Assets.nsf/Luxembourg_E/UCITS_III_-_a_practical_guide/$file/ucits%20III.pdf

There are many types of ETFs being issued.

The most common are Passive Index Trackers.

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are passively managed investment funds that track the performance of an underlying index. Almost anything you can do with a single share or stock you can do with an ETF share. Traditional funds (funds with units not listed on an exchange), typically only offer the opportunity to subscribe or redeem units at the Net asset Value (NAV) on each day, but an etf that is listed on an exchange, must be quoted continuously during exchange trading hours by its Market Makers. ETFs can be bought or sold via bank and broker. It’s important to check the ETF’s prospectus to ensure that there aren’t hidden charges or other potential issues.

• An easy means to achieve market performance
• Minimal tracking error at low cost
• Tight bid-offer spreads and daily liquidity
• Trade ETFs just like single stocks
• High transparency through daily published Index constituents
• Some exchanges require iNAVs.
• Cost effective alternative to traditional funds

UCITS III represents a regulatory revolution.

Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities  (UCITS) are now to be allowed to be wholly invested in non-transferable derivatives.

All EU based investment funds had to convert to the UCITS III rulebook by mid-February 2007.

A UCITS Funds can be sophisticated or unsophisticated.

Where a firm manages a “sophisticated” fund, one using derivatives extensively for investment, the regulations require that its Risk Management Process (RMP), must, in particular, incorporate a daily calculation of the “Value at Risk” (VaR) of the fund.

Many UCITS compliant funds are being traded as ETFS (Exchange Traded Funds), where the benefit of MIFID and UCITS means that a fund launched in one EU state can now be easily passported to other EU states.

‘Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities’ (or UCITS, pronounced yoo-sits) are a set of European Union directives that aim to allow collective investment schemes to operate freely throughout the EU on the basis of a single authorisation from one member state. In practice many EU member nations have imposed additional regulatory requirements that have impeded free operation with the effect of protecting local asset managers.

A collective investment fund may apply for UCITS status in order to allow EU-wide marketing. The concept is to create a single market in transferable securities across the EU. With a larger market the economies of scale will reduce costs for investment managers which can be passed on to consumers.

Throughout Europe approximately €5 trillion are invested in collective investments. Of these funds about 70% are UCITS. (source Wikipedia 2005)

We have been trying to find a complete list of ETFs, and it seems that without checking each exchange, this is hard to ensure for now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_exchange-traded_funds is a good first cut though, and shows lots of ETFs, but not all are UCITS III compliant.

Eligible Investments for UCITS The Financial Regulator has recently issued clarification in relation to a UCITS ability to invest in unlisted securities and the use of subsidiaries.

Investment in unlisted securities Article 19(2) of the UCITS Directive permits a UCITS to invest no more than 10% of its net assets in unlisted transferable securities and money market instruments. To date investments in this “10% unlisted bucket”, as it is commonly known, has been interpreted so as not to allow, for example, investment in unregulated funds to fall within this limit.

The Financial Regulator has reconsidered its interpretation of Article 19(2). It has confirmed that a UCITS is permitted to invest up to 10% of its net assets in aggregate in any type of unlisted securities and unregulated investment funds, including hedge funds, provided the investment complies with the eligibility criteria for UCITS. As long as the aggregate investment is less than 10% of the net asset value of the fund, a fund can invest in unregulated investment funds, whether open-ended or closed-ended, without regard to the Financial Regulator’s guidance note on acceptable investments in funds.

The eligibility criteria which must be met in relation to such investments are those requirements set out in Article 1(8) of the UCITS Directive, as amended by the Eligible Assets Directive, which are as follows: a. the potential loss which the UCITS may incur with respect to holding the investments is limited to the amount paid for them; b. the liquidity of the investments will not compromise the ability of the UCITS to comply with Article 37 of the UCITS Directive (i.e. to meet its redemption obligations); c. there must be a reliable valuation of the investments on a periodic basis; d. there must be regular and accurate information available to the UCITS on the investments; e. the investments must be negotiable; f. the investments must be consistent with the stated investment objectives of the UCITS; and g. the risk of the investments must be adequately captured by the risk management process of the UCITS. If an existing UCITS wishes to take advantage of this new interpretation to invest in unregulated schemes we recommend that additional disclosure be included in the prospectus to address this.

The investment policy of the UCITS should be amended to refer specifically to the ability to invest in unlisted securities and specifically unregulated funds. Shareholders should be notified of this amendment to the investment policy. An assessment of how the eligibility criteria will be satisfied in relation to each such investment would also need to be undertaken.

Please note - this is not formal legal advice - you should consult legal professionals and appropriate regulator websites / information guidance.