Amend or wind up an authorised fund

This page covers amends to:

• An authorised contractual scheme (ACS).
• An authorised unit trust (AUT).
• An investment company with variable capital (ICVC).

You must notify us of your proposed change by submitting the relevant form and supporting documents.

There is no fee for amending or winding up an authorised fund.

You can only make the change after we have approved. You must notify us when the change has been made.

Notification forms

The form you need depends on the type of fund and the change you want to make.

It may also depend on whether the fund comes under:

• Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA).
• Open-Ended Investment Companies Regulations 2001 (OEIC Regulations).
• Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Regulations 2011.

Your notification may be considered incomplete if you don’t answer all relevant questions or provide the required information without telling us why, or if you don’t sign the declaration.

Read our additional information on authorised fund applications – our expectations (PDF)[7] including useful information on the application process.

Processing times for completed notifications

• Feeder UCITS – Cease[6] and 283A[4] – within 15 working days.
• Form 9[5] – within 20 working days.
• Forms 21[3], 251[2] and 261Q[1] – within 1 month.

Supporting documents

The notification forms explain which documents you should include with your notification. 

Alternative investments funds (AIFs)

If the fund is a non-UCITS retail scheme (NURS), a qualified investor scheme (QIS) or a long-term asset fund (LTAF) managed by a UK AIFM, you must notify us of the new AIF undermanagement or AIFMD material change notification, where relevant using:

• AIF new fund under management form[8] (DOC)
• AIF notification of material change form[9] (PDF)

To amend an existing fund so it can operate as a fund of alternative investments fund (FAIF), you must include details of the due diligence as required under COLL, including:

• Written procedures.
• Resources.
• Delegated functions.
• Confirmation the depositary is satisfied with the process.
• Any due diligence already undertaken for target schemes.

Money Market Funds (MMF)

• MMF checklist[10] (DOC)

KIID / NURS-KII / PRIIPS KID / Consumer Composite investment product summary (CCI) draft document

When proposing to amend an authorised fund, you can provide one draft KIID / NURS-KII / PRIIPS KID / CCI document as an illustration of the proposal, such as a draft KIID / NURS-KII / PRIIPS KID / CCI reflecting income units with any differences within unit class designations being identified. 

You also have to confirm any amendments made during our review process will be included in the final versions submitted with Form FN[11] (DOC).

You must submit a KIID / NURS-KII / PRIIPS KID for all unit classes being issued, unless a representative KIID / NURS-KII / PRIIPS KID is being produced, with Form FN.

Depositary signatures

To amend an ICVC using Form 21[11] (DOC) or AUT using Form 251[12] (DOC), or an ACS using Form 261Q[13] (DOC), the scheme depositary must sign the application form, or a copy of the original application form.

This is to confirm they are aware of the proposed change(s) and that, in their opinion, the change(s) comply with our rules at the time of the notification. 

Where the depositary’s signature is submitted to us on a copy of the original application, it must also be obtained on an original signed copy of the form and retained for a reasonable period of time.

By providing a signature, the depositary agrees to be contacted by the FCA over the course of the application. 

During our review of the application, we may share information with both the AFM and depositary, and the signing of the application form results in your agreement. 

Approving the change

We'll send email confirmation once we’ve made a decision on your notification.

Our approval is only for a proposed change. Once you’ve then made change you must notify us by:

• Submitting Form FN[17] (DOC).
• Filing the latest versions of the scheme documents with us.

We'll update the Financial Services Register[9], where relevant.

Contact us

For questions about an open application or notification, contact your case officer.  Contact details will be included in our email confirming we’ve received your application.

For any other questions, email [email protected] and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.