Seychelles Private Fund

The Mutual Fund and Hedge Fund Act, 2008 sets out the guidelines pertaining to the application and licensing of mutual funds and other collective investment entities.

Key Features

A Private Fund licence may be issued to a mutual fund which meets the following criteria:

• its constitutional documents specify that it will not have more than 50 investors;
• its constitutional documents specify that the making of any invitations to the public to subscribe for or purchase shares in the fund is prohibited; or
• invitation is to be made on a private basis.

In accordance with the Act, an invitation is made on a private basis when it is made:

• to specified persons or specified ascertainable class of persons and is not calculated to result in shares becoming available to other persons;
• by reason of a private client or business relationship between the person making the invitation and the investor; or
• it is designated as a private fund by Regulations.

Legal Requirements

Requirements	Description
General
Corporate  vehicle permitted	IBC (International Business Company), CSL (Special License Company), Trust and PCC (Protected Cell Company)
·         License application fee	USD 500
·         Annual license fee	USD 500
Local physical office required	No
Share capital or equivalent
·         Minimum subscription	None
·        Minimum investors	None
Directors
Minimum number	2
Corporate directorship allowed	Yes
Local director required	No
Service Providers Required
Custodian	Yes
Fund manager/Investment manager	Yes
Fund administrator	Yes (from Seychelles)
Auditors	Yes

 

Tax Treatment

• The Business Tax Act does not apply to licensed and exempt funds unless the licensed fund is a company under the Companies (Special Licence) Act, 2003, in which case a tax rate of 1.5% will be applicable on the income of the fund.
• No withholding tax is payable on dividends and/or interest payable.

 

Duration to Set Up

Around 3 months

 

Distinctive Benefits of Licence

• Ease and speed of establishment
• Flexible structuring of the entity
• Favourable compliance restrictions
• Friendly regulatory environment
• A mutual fund in Seychelles can be administered by a Seychelles Licensed fund administrator or an approved foreign administrator domiciled outside Seychelles.

 

The Valsen Advantage

• End to end comprehensive service
• Speedy and efficient service
• Expert advice on structuring options
• Dedicated ongoing compliance support
• Extensive network pool of service providers