The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) has launched a stakeholder consultation on the proposed establishment of a new framework for Notified Professional Investor Funds (NPIFs).

The proposal is part of a number of key regulatory and policy initiatives being undertaken by the Authority in relation to asset management. These initiatives are aimed at further improving the regulatory platform for professional investment funds by means of streamlined, pragmatic and risk-based policy-making.

The NPIF proposal seeks to provide an additional fund structure which complements existing fund frameworks. This new fund structure entails potentially lower associated setup and other operational and regulatory costs than those which are currently experienced in operating a fully licensed fund. It also seeks to take a more proportionate and risk-based approach to the onboarding process, given the regulated status of the funds’ service providers and the qualified status of the target investors.

NPIFs will be subject to a notification process and will therefore not be licensed by the MFSA.  Such funds and their service providers will be required to adhere to the relevant conditions as stipulated in the proposed regulatory framework issued for consultation. NPIFs will be non-retail schemes made only available to Qualifying Investors and will be required to provide the appropriate risk disclosures to any prospective investor accordingly.

The Consultation Document is available on the Authority’s website.

Interested parties are encouraged to send their comments by email to [email protected] by not later than 31 January 2023.