An investment fund is defined as a supply of capital belonging to numerous investors used to collectively purchase securities while each investor retains ownership and control of his own shares. This instrument provides a broader selection of investment opportunities, greater management expertise and lower investment fees than investors might be able to obtain on their own.
An investment fund can be managed only by authorized persons in Lithuania, only a managing company is entitled to manage an investment fund. Thus, any legal person planning to manage an investment fund must obtain a license from a competent authority. In Lithuanian case, such authority is the Bank of Lithuania, which issues licences for management companies and supervises how management companies are operating their assets in the investment funds.
Capital and management requirements
The initial capital of a company managing the investment fund must be not less than EUR 125,000. It should be noted that a licence can be acquired only by a public limited liability company or a private limited liability company.
Management company has to have a management board, which consist of minimum 3 persons and a managing director. The Bank of Lithuania has to have all the relevant information about a head and board members of a management company, who must be of good repute and possess the qualification and experience necessary to properly perform their duties.
Documents required
In order to obtain a licence of a managing company in Lithuania, an applicant must submit an application to the Bank of Lithuania. The application must be provided with the following information:
- a future business plan;
- the company’s organisational structure;
- information about a legal person, its participants, heads, activities;
- information confirming compliance with capital requirements;
It should be noted that propriety of a management company and its shareholders (holders of voting rights) must be of good repute and have a relevance competence in this area. The planned business plan must correspond to the possibilities of the founders of the management company (shareholders or holders of voting rights) to implement it, while the prospective management company must, at the time of authorization, be prepared to provide financial services in a safe and sound manner.
State fees
The Bank of Lithuania will issue licence within 6 months of submission of all documents, data and explanations.
State fee for licence is EUR 550.
Should you have any questions about investment funds in Lithuania, Estonia or Latvia, please do not hesitate to contact our English speaking lawyers at info@gencs.eu.
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