St. Vincent Private Fund

St. Vincent Private Fund

Mutual funds are regulated by the Mutual Funds Act, 1997 as amended by the Mutual Funds (Amendment) Act 1998, with Regulations issued in 1999. The Act provides for the licensing of both domestic and international mutual funds.

Key Features

All applications to carry on business, as a Private Fund must be submitted to the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Financial Services Authority to the attention of the Registrar of Mutual Funds.

The legal structure that can form the basis of a St. Vincent mutual fund includes an incorporated company, a partnership or a unit trust. It can include an umbrella type fund. Open ended, closed ended and integral funds are allowed.

A private or accredited fund is a mutual fund that either has no more than fifty investors or issues shares on a private basis. An accredited fund issues shares only to accredited investors, with an initial investment of not less than USD 25,000. An accredited investor is one who has a net worth in excess of USD 1 million.

Legal Requirements

Requirements	Description
General
Corporate  vehicle permitted	St. Vincent International Company, Partnership or Unit Trust
·         License application fee	USD 500
·         Annual license fee	USD 600
Local physical office required	No
Share capital or equivalent
·         Minimum subscription	USD 25,000
·         Minimum investors	50
Directors
Minimum number	2
Corporate directorship allowed	Yes
Local director required	No
Service Providers Required
Custodian	Yes (from anywhere)
Fund manager/Investment manager	Yes (from anywhere)
Local fund administrator	No
Auditors	Yes
Legal adviser	Yes

 Tax Treatment

Total exemption from all taxes (International Business Companies may, however, opt to pay SVG income tax at 1% if they wish to take advantage of the Caricom Tax Treaty).

Duration to Set Up

About 4 to 6 weeks

Distinctive Benefits of Licence

• Minimum formality and speedy approval procedures, which allows funds to be created quickly, once the structure, investment criteria and prospectus have been finalized;
• No exchange controls or other restrictions on the movement of funds; and
• Favourable tax regime.

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