Regulatory Alerts2014-01-20
Added · Updated
Depositary of an Alternative Investment Fund
The depositary of an Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) is responsible for the safekeeping of AIF assets and performing supervisory duties on behalf of investors. Key functions include holding financial instruments or maintaining registers for other assets, ensuring compliance with the Financial Supervision Act regarding unit holder transactions and investment returns, and auditing AIF cash flows. Eligible depositaries include authorized credit institutions or entities permitted under the UCITS Directive, with specific provisions for alternative depositaries in real estate or private equity funds. Foreign entities require approval from the Autoriteit Financiële Markten (AFM) in addition to notification to De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB).
Related websites
Autoriteit Financiële Markten (Refers to an external site)
Factsheet
Read aloud
The depositary of an AIF is responsible for the safekeeping of the AIF assets and for performing a range of supervisory duties on behalf of investors. An AIF depositary should be distinguished from a UCITS depositary.
Published: 20 January 2014
Functions
The main function of a depositary is to hold the assets of an AIF. Assets may be either financial instruments that can be taken into custody or other assets for which a register must be kept. In addition, the depositary has several supervisory functions. For one thing, the depositary must ensure that the accession and departure of unit holders, and the sale, issue, buyback, repayment and cancellation of participation rights or units in the AIF are conducted in accordance with the Financial Supervision Act ( Wft ) and with the statute and/or by-laws of the AIF, and that the AIF's investment returns, such as interest or dividend, are dealt with in accordance with the law and with the statute/by-laws of the AIF. Also, the depositary must audit the AIF's cash flows.
Who can be a depositary?
an authorised credit institution having its registered office in a Member State
an authorised credit institution having its registered office in a Member State
an entity permitted to act as a depositary under the UCITS Directive
Certain types of AIFs may, in addition, appoint a so-called alternative depositary. AIFs that may qualify for this option include depositaries of real estate funds or private equity funds. An alternative depositary must meet several requirements, including the requirement that the depositary functions are performed in the line of business. An authorised credit institution or investment firm established in another Member State, apart from the requirement to notify DNB, is subject to approval by the AFM in order to qualify as depositary. For further information about AIF depositaries, please refer to the extensive Q&A on the website of the AFM.
Discover related articles
Factsheet
Share:
Share on LinkedIn
Share on X
Share on Facebook
Share via Email
Related websites
Autoriteit Financiële Markten (Refers to an external site)
Necessary cookies
To ensure the proper operation of the website, De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB) uses functional cookies and analytics cookies, and has taken measures to ensure that these cookies have little or no impact on the privacy of website users.
Optional cookies
Some pages include embedded content from external websites. These websites may use proprietary (tracking) cookies. This allows third parties to track visitor statistics, show personalised content and display targeted ads, for example.
You can make your choice about allowing these optional cookies both when you first visit the website and when you navigate to a page with embedded content.