The concept of Shariah-compliant investment funds is often perceived as niche or confined to jurisdictions with predominantly Muslim populations. In reality, Islamic finance has evolved into a sophisticated global financial system whose principles
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) recently issued a Dear CEO Letter outlining the findings of its thematic review on the compliance and internal audit functions of management companies of alternative investment funds (“AIFs”)
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued its latest Investment Services Supervision Regulatory Briefing covering the period between 29th July 2025 to 28th February 2026. The publication highlights important regulatory and sup
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Directive (EU) 2024/927, more commonly referred to as AIFMD II, amends the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”) with respect to the harmonisation of rules applicable to alternative investment fund managers (“AIFMs”) man
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Unit trusts have established themselves as a flexible and efficient structure for collective investment under Maltese law. While rooted in trust law, they are commonly regulated as Collective Investment Schemes under the Investment Services Act (�
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a Circular announcing that the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has published its Q&A Guide on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (Regulation (EU)
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a Circular addressed to Central Securities Depositories, investment firms, and other market stakeholders concerning the upcoming transition to a T+1 settlement cycle under Regulation (
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (the “Authority”) has issued a circular underlining updates to three key regulatory reporting templates: Annual Fund Return The Annual Fund Return has been update to Version 1.10 and is now available on t
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has issued a position paper setting out its stance on the tokenisation of fund units within Collective Investment Schemes (“CIS”). This initiative aligns with the EU’s broader efforts to re
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Strategic Investment funds have become a game-changer in the world of investments, offering targeted opportunities for growth in niche sectors like sports, media, and entertainment. These specialised funds are designed to capitalise on emerging tr
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We would like to extend our sincere thanks to Swissquote, Integra Private Wealth Management, and Invesco for inviting our team to the Financial Horizons 2025 conference. It was a privilege to attend this insightful event, where we gained valuable
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) has published an article to explore the increasing use of artificial intelligence (“AI“) in the European Union (“EU“) investment fund industry, highlighting
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has introduced a new framework for Collective Investment Schemes (“CISs”) structured as Special Limited Partnership Funds (“SLPFs”). This move is part of the MFSA&
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has published a circular announcing amendments to the Notified Professional Investor Fund (“NPIF”) framework. These changes now allow NPIFs to be established as self-managed s
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One of the more recent developments in the world of alternative investment is the Notified Alternative Investment Funds (“NAIF”). NAIFS are a type of collective investment scheme exempt from licencing, provided they are included in the Malta F
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Fund Managers nowadays are concerned about one main matter: the time to market of their products. Acknowledging this, Malta as a jurisdiction has launched a new fund structure aimed at allowing managers, even those outside of the EU, to launch the
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On 20th March 2023, the amendments to Regulation 2015/760 on European Long-Term Investment Funds (“ELTIF 2”) was published on the Official Journal of the European Union (“EU”). This development comes after negotiations, proposals, and voti
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On the 22nd of December 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) published a Consultation Document on the proposed establishment of a Framework for Notified Professional Investor Funds (“NPIFs”). The aim behind this Consultati
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) has revised the application forms for applicants seeking authorisation as Alternative Investment Funds (“AIFs”) and Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (“UCITS
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A crypto fund can be defined as a collective investment scheme managing a portfolio consisting mainly of cryptocurrencies. These types of funds are on the rise, mainly due to the rapid growth in value of several cryptocurrencies. The development o
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Alternative Investment Funds (“AIFs”) are established with the purpose to raise capital through non-traditional investment products which generally do not fall under the category of mainstream investments. In this respect, certain AIFs have al
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On the 11th of October 2021, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a circular to inform the industry on two matters: the Investment Firms Classification and XBRL Submission Testing Phase. Investment Firms Classification Follow
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On the 10th November 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) issued a circular informing the industry on the revisions made to the Loan Funds Rules, that shall apply as from the date of the issued circular. The new rules shal
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By means of a notice issued by the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) on the 15th July 2020, the MFSA reminded all licence holders of their obligations in relation to record keeping. In order to ensure consumer protection, complia
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On the 3 July 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”), published a Circular addressed to MiFID firms, fund managers and self-managed Collective Investment Schemes (the “Licence Holders”) falling within the remit of the se
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On the 3 July 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) notified firms classifying as MiFID firms, Fund Managers and Collective Investment Schemes (the “Licence Holders“) that various amendments had been carried o
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On the 3rd April 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”), the EU’s securities markets regulator, has published its Guidelines on performance fees in investment funds applicable to Undertakings for the Collective Investme
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On the 27 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) issued a Consultation Paper on its draft Guidelines issued in relation to the leverage risks in the Alternative Investment Fund (“AIF”) sector (the “Guidelines�
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently issued a decision to temporarily require the holders of net short positions in shares traded on a regulated market within the European Union (the “EU”), to notify the rele
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The MFSA has recently issued two Circulars in relation to Regulation (EU) 2016/1011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on indices used as benchmarks in financial instruments and financial contracts or to measure the perfo
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On the 15th October 2019, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) issued a Circular on Self-Assessment on potential closet indexing practices adopted by Collective Investment Schemes targeting retail investors (the "Circular"
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The European Securities and Markets Authority ("ESMA")has recently published a Consultation Paper on Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, the Market Abuse Regulation ("MAR"). This Consultation Paper provides a number of proposals which
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has recently published two guidelines regarding the stress testing of money market funds and reporting on money market funds to national competent authorities. These guidelines were publis
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Professional Investor Funds (“PIFs”) investing in Virtual Currencies (“VCs”) are now regulated through the supplementary conditions applicable to such schemes. The additional provisions found in the new section, which is applicable to PIFs
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Following the publication of the Consultation Document of the proposed regulations last Monday the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) published the feedback statement highlighting the major issues raised by the major stakeholders an
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The Government of Malta has adopted a broad national strategy reflecting its ambition to embrace blockchain innovation. In this regard, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has been monitoring developments with respect to Virtual Currenci
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The Malta Financial Services Authority (the “MFSA”) has recently published a Consultation document on the Proposed Amendments to the Notified Investment Funds Regime (NAIFs). Proposed Changes The proposed changes seek to allow the possibility
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Introduction Externally managed funds in Malta, and in other European jurisdictions, are effectively regulated both at fund management level and at fund level. Following the introduction of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AI
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Today the MFSA has announced the launch of a new product, the Notified AIFs, promoted to either qualifying or professional investors. Notified AIFs, as long as they are managed by an AIFM, are not authorised or licensed by the MFSA and will not be
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The UCITS V Directive was published in the European Union’s Official Journal on the 28th August 2014. The Directive, amending Directive 2009/65/EC on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings fo
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