INVESTMENT FUNDS WITH LEGAL PERSONALITY – A TRUE RIVAL TO MUTUAL FUNDS?

Abstract

Investment funds come in a large variety of legal forms, investment techniques, target investors, redemption rights, and others. It is often said that there are no two investment funds that are the same. The focus of this article is the legal form in which they come. Authors shall analyze the position of investors in funds with legal personality in order to discuss differences in comparison to investors in mutual funds. On the EU level only the UCITS funds are harmonized, while alternative investment funds are left to national regulations. The aim is to discuss whether the legal status of investment funds is a real yardstick for determining the crucial investor’s rights such as redemption rights and relations between the investors and fund managers. In order to provide answer authors shall compare funds in jurisdictions that are comparable and often serve as role models, as well as those in which the fund industry is most developed, followed by the Croatian perspective. Finally, the authors shall contribute to the discussion of how can traditional types of companies such as joint-stock or limited liability companies be integrated into the capital market law arena, serving as a vessel to investment funds.