Regulation on investment companies would increase the international competitiveness of domestic regulation of funds – Antti Vepsä’s article published in Finland Chamber of Commerce’s Finnish Business Law Journal

In variable-capital investment companies, the management structure is different from contractual investment funds and special investment funds particularly in that investors have more control in the former. Variable-capital investment companies cannot be established in Finland as there is no applicable special regulation and the regulation on limited liability companies is not very suitable for fund management activities.

Variable-capital investment companies are very common in Europe. They are used in the international marketing of funds in particular, as the investment company structure is easily understandable and widely known and enables a sub-fund structure for the flexible management of funds.

Regulation on investment companies was previously discussed in conjunction with the reform project concerning the Finnish Act on Common Funds, but preparation for the regulation was postponed. The funds industry considers the preparation of regulation on investment companies an important reform area for the regulation of funds in Finland.

The article by Mr Vepsä is available in Finnish to subscribers to the Edilex service.

As a senior associate, Mr Vepsä specialises in advising our clients on the structuring, promotion and management of alternative investment funds, investment funds and other types of collective investment schemes. In his career, he has been involved in establishing dozens of investment funds and alternative investment funds as well as fund investments. With a versatile and extensive background in funds, Mr Vepsä is able to provide the business-oriented advice he is well known for. He is currently writing a doctoral dissertation on the regulation of variable-capital investment funds established as companies at the University of Tampere. He actively takes part in academic debate in his field and is one of the leading researchers in Finland.