Regulatory Alerts2018-03-26
Joint Circular on the Marketing of Foreign Collective Investment Schemes under Section 65 of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act, 2002
Issued jointly by South Africa’s Registrar of Collective Investment Schemes, Stock Exchanges, and Financial Markets, this circular clarifies the prohibition under Section 65 of the Collective Investment Schemes Control Act, 2002 against soliciting investments in unapproved foreign collective investment schemes. It explicitly bans marketing, advertising, and promotional activities for such unapproved schemes while permitting local residents and investment managers to execute discretionary or specific client instructions to invest in them without contravening the law. Any person or entity found soliciting investments in non-approved foreign schemes faces criminal liability, including fines or imprisonment of up to five years, and existing pre-1998 investments remain grandfathered.