The International Mutual Funds Act Cap 12.16 (the Act) of the 2008 revised laws of St. Lucia provide for the regulation, authorization and control of international mutual funds and their administrators and managers, the carrying on of international mutual fund business in or from Saint Lucia and for related matters. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Saint Lucia (FSRA) licenses Public Mutual Funds and registers Private Mutual Funds in Saint Lucia.
International Public Mutual Funds are funds open to the public for investment. A public mutual fund can therefore be an index fund, a stock fund, a bond fund or a money market fund. They are managed by professional fund managers, who actively invest in various securities to achieve stated objectives, which can be for example, capital growth or income. Public mutual funds are monitored through the analysis of the companies’ audited accounts which is submitted to the FSRA three months after the financial year end.
Eligible company is a body corporate which is incorporated or continued under the International Business Companies Act, Cap. 12.14; for the purpose of carrying on international public mutual fund business and whose objects or business activities are restricted to international public mutual fund business.
A public fund is required to appoint at least one director, who must be natural persons.
• A fund administrator of an international public mutual fund must be a person who is granted and
holds a valid international public mutual fund administrator licence issued by the minister.
• The fund administrator must be a person who is an international business company incorporated.
• An auditor must be a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Eastern
Caribbean or another professional accounting institute or association and who is approved as
an auditor by the Minister;
• The auditor must be independent of the international mutual fund or the administrator or the manager
which he or she is auditing; and • The auditor must have at
least 5 years of experience in performing audits of financial institutions or mutual funds.
• A fund manager carrying out business as an international public mutual fund manager must be a person who is granted and holds a valid international public mutual fund manager licence and complies with the provisions of this Act, the Regulations and the terms and conditions of the international public mutual fund manager licence
An international public mutual fund must have a current offering document filed by the director
and which must provide full, true and plain disclosure of:
a) the issue price of any equity interests being offered
b) particulars of the business and finances of the international public mutual fund offering such equity interests; and
c) all facts present or foreseeable that significantly affect or
would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the disclosure required in a) above.