Open Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) in Spain

Updated on Tuesday 11th October 2016

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There are numerous ways in which both local and foreign investors interested in the Spanish investment market can start an investment fund. The entrepreneurs can open a business in Spain as sole investors or as partners in a company. In this sense, the Spanish legislation prescribes an investment vehicle set up as a collective investment scheme (CIS), which is an investment fund in which the assets are collected from different investors. CIS are also referred to as mutual funds and our team of lawyers in Spain can offer legal assistance on the requirements to establish this type of vehicle.

Types of collective investment schemes in Spain

Investment funds in Spain set up as CIS can be established under numerous legal business forms. There are three main categories, comprised of the following:

• financial CIS, which can take the form of a legal entity registered as an open-ended company with variable capital or as an investment fund;

• non-financial CIS, registered as closed-ended real estate investment company or a real estate investment fund;

• private equity CIS, registered as private equity investment companies or funds.

Such entities, which can be registered either as companies, either as investment funds, are regulated by the same law, the Collective Investment Act.

Our team of attorneys in Spain can provide in-depth details on the law, which prescribes different regulations set up in accordance with the characteristics of the CIS. In this sense, open-ended entities are regulated by the Law 22/2014, while the closed-ended funds fall under the regulations of the Law 35/2003.

The main regulator of the industry is the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV).

Shareholders of a Spanish CIS

Those who want to start a company in Spain have to respect several rules referring to the ownership of the company and such regulations are given by the legal entity of the business. In the case of a CIS, the Spanish legislation does not prescribe a specific percentage referring to the shares owned by a shareholder.

However, it is important to know that Spanish CIS require at least 100 shareholders and this minimum number doesn’t have to be met during the incorporation procedure, as the legislation stipulates that it can be reached within the first year after the registration.

Businessmen may contact our law firm in Spain for legal advice on this matter.