Minimum investments in alternative funds reduced – Amendments to several tax laws and bills on confirmation of borrowing adopted

The Committee on Finance, State Budget and Control of Public Spending yesterday adopted a set of proposed amendments to tax laws and bills on the confirmation of agreements on Serbia’s borrowing for the improvement of the rail infrastructure. Among them are the proposed amendments to the Law on Open-Ended Investment Funds Subject to Public Offering.

The aim of the amendments, according to the state secretary at the Ministry of Finance, Slavica Savicic, is to found a larger number of those funds and attract local and foreign investors.

Currently, according to her, five companies manage investment funds, there are 27 investment funds, and the total assets of the companies which manage the funds is EUR 1.4 billion.

– If more investors invested in the funds, it would contribute to the development of the funds industry, as well as the economy. The amendments introduce a single register of liens on investment units which will be managed by the Central Securities Depository and Clearing House – said Savicic.

She also said that the Law on Alternative Investment Funds has been amended as well. Since the beginning of the implementation of the law, as of September this year, there are nine companies with permits for the management of those funds.

Of the eight alternative investment funds, four are open-ended and subject to public offering, three are closed-ended with venture capital and subject to private offering and one is closed-ended for investments in real estate.

As of the end of October this year, those companies managed assets of EUR 80 million.

– Considering that there is a great interest of the public for the founding of closed-ended alternative funds subject to private offering, especially private and venture capital, the amendments have been made in order to adapt to the paying power of the investors – said Savicic.

She added that the proposed amendments envisaged a reduction of the minimum investment of a semi-professional investor in an alternative fund to EUR 5,000.

The threshold of the mandatory payment of an individual investor with a private offering is also reduced from EUR 50,000 to EUR 10,000.

Also, the mandatory payment of an individual semi-professional investor in an alternative private capital fund is reduced from EUR 250,000 to EUR 50,000, and the amount of the basic capital above which the fund must have a two-tier governance is increased.

Vlada Republike Srbije

Narodna skupština Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo finansija Republike Srbije

Slavica Savičić

Law on Open Ended Investment Funds Subject to Public Offering

Law on Alternative Investment Funds

Central Securities Depository and Clearing House

open ended investment funds

alternative investment funds