WHAT IS THE ICAV?
The Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (“ICAV”) is a new form of collective investment vehicle, introduced in March 2015. It is a corporate vehicle for both UCITS and Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs). It sits alongside existing fund structures – Unit Trusts, Common Contractual Funds, Investment Limited Partnerships and Part XIII Investment Companies.
The ICAV is governed by bespoke legislation designed specifically with the needs of investment funds in mind. A fund established as an ICAV is not impacted by amendments to certain pieces of European and domestic company legislation that are targeted at trading companies rather than investment funds.
The ICAV benefits from the same favourable tax treatment applicable to other corporate funds and unit trusts, but with the added advantage of being able to “check-the-box” for US tax purposes.
KEY FEATURES OF THE ICAV
- The Central Bank is both the registration and the supervisory authority for the ICAV.
- The ICAV has its own legislative regime which ensures that it is not impacted by company law changes designed for ordinary companies.
- An ICAV may be established as an umbrella structure with a number of sub-funds and share classes. An umbrella ICAV has segregated liability between sub-funds. It is possible to prepare separate accounts for each sub-fund.
- Investors own shares in the ICAV and the ICAV is able to issue and redeem shares continually according to investor demand. Thus, the ICAV is no different to other open-ended collective investment schemes. The ICAV may also be established as a closed ended scheme, subject to Central Bank requirements regarding closed-ended funds.
- The ICAV has a governing document known as an Instrument of Incorporation (“IOI”). The IOI is the constitutional document of the ICAV, similar to the Memorandum and Articles of Association of an Investment Company.
- The ICAV must have a board of directors to govern its affairs, with a requirements for a minimum of two directors.
- The board of directors of an ICAV may dispense with the holding of an annual general meeting by giving written notice to all of the ICAV’s shareholders.
- An ICAV is not required to spread risk, unlike an investment company.
- An ICAV may be listed on a stock exchange.
Subscribe to receive the latest BDO News and Insights
Please fill out the following form to access the download.