Mutual Funds

Overview

Our Mutual Funds practice has been consistently recognized as a leading and highly recommended practice in investment funds and retail funds by independent editorial publications, including the International Financial Law Review 1000 (ILFR1000), the Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and Asialaw Profiles, and for which our lawyers have been consistently recognized as “leading” and “market-leading” lawyers.

Our expertise in mutual funds complements our award winning practices in hedge funds, private equity and our financial services regulation, for which we have also been consistently internationally recognized as leading practices by the IFLR1000, the Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and Asialaw Profiles.

Our funds and regulatory lawyers routine advise fund managers, banks and insurance companies sponsoring publicly offered funds. Our work includes the following:

• SFC authorization, including advising on applications for authorization by the Securities and Futures Commission (“SFC”) under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (“SFO”) in respect of publicly offered funds, including UCITS and non-UCITS unit trusts and mutual funds, real estate funds, and investment linked assurance schemes (“ILAS”), and compliance with the SFC’s Code on Unit Trusts and Mutual Funds (“UT Code”), Code on Investment Linked Assurance Schemes (“ILAS Code”), Code on Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REIT Code”)

• Public listing of investment funds, including advising on applications for the listing of SFC authorized investment vehicles on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (“SEHK”) under Chapter 20 (for collective investment schemes) and Chapter 21 (for investment companies) of the Listing Rules of the SEHK (“SEHK Listing Rules”), including in respect of close ended investment funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”)

• Fund documentation, including preparing and reviewing offering documents, key fact statements (“KFS”), fund fact sheets, fund subscription agreements and fund distribution agreements and certifying Chinese translations of offering documentation

• Ongoing compliance with regulatory obligations under the UT Code and the ILAS Code, including advising on the need for SFC approvals and the preparation of notices to investors