Printed from the Field Fisher Waterhouse web site
Web address: http://www.ffw.com/practices/tax/taxation-of-investment-funds.aspx

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Investment Funds

The term “investment fund” is normally used to describe the many different types of collective investment vehicles set up to manage a wide range of investors' money.  Investment funds can take various forms, such as authorised unit trusts, open-ended investment companies, limited partnerships, offshore trusts or offshore companies. 

Tax is a crucial factor to consider when structuring an investment fund because one would normally want to ensure that an investment in a fund will not give rise to a higher tax cost for the investor than a direct investment in the fund's underlying investment.  Moreover, tax is often an important consideration when implementing various schemes of reconstruction involving investment funds (for example, stamp duty and SDRT issues in connection with the merger of investment funds).  

We regularly advise a wide range of investment management businesses on the various tax issues that need to be considered in relation to structuring of investment funds (both at fund and investor level) and provide these clients with innovative tax efficient solutions.