Investment licence

Investment licence is a special permit issued by the authorised body of a particular state, which grants the licensee the rights to conduct a specific type of financial activity, namely investment activity.

Investment activity is the investment of funds in investment objects for the purpose of making profit. For example, purchase/sale of long-term assets or real estate, other investments. Long-term assets usually consist of fixed assets such as buildings and equipment. Investments are a little more complex than long-term assets. They include cash, intellectual property (e.g., know-how), current assets (e.g., property rights). An investment licence is required to carry out this type of activity.

Stages of the licensing process

Before commencing a pecuniary venture, it is imperative to procure the pertinent authorization. Enumerated hereunder are the principal phases of securing an investment permit:

1. Formulation of an entreaty scroll for an endowment dispensation.
2. Aggregation and presentation of the dispensation entreaty assemblage to the state dominion of the selected sovereignty.

Foremostly, it is crucial to acquaint oneself with the jurisprudence of the realm wherein you aspire to procure a pecuniary investment charter, as each realm harbors its idiosyncratic licensure prerequisites. It is also imperative to bear in mind the mutability and alteration of the jurisprudence. The modus operandi of acquiring an investment charter is protracted and mandates a perspicuous comprehension of the jurisprudence of a particular jurisdiction. Hence, it might be judicious to engage professional corporate advisers. Particularly, if one considers that antecedent to scrutinizing an entreaty for a charter, the duly authorized entities typically execute a merited scrutiny of the enterprise. The temporal framework for scrutinizing the entreaty and documentation dossier hinges on the rectitude and entirety of the documents.

Financial investment activities: licensing requirements

Permitting of investment endeavors is attainable if a multitude of licensure prerequisites are fulfilled, notably concerning:

• the quantum of proprietary funds;
• the organisational and juridical configuration of the enterprise;
• divulgation of intelligence on commercial sectors;
• the enterprise's Articles of Association;
• individuals executing the duties of the executive cadre, members of the Directorate;
• lodging of fiscal declarations;
• arrangement of intrinsic surveillance.

Investment activity licence: what documents are required for licensing?

As we have already elucidated, permit requisites may exhibit sundry disparities from state to state. With this cognizance, it is imperative to concoct documents and consummate applications in consonance with the requisites of the jurisdiction where you intend to pursue investment endeavors. Should the authorizing body discern any aberrations from the juridical stipulations, your entreaty may encounter repudiation.

The bundle of requisite records for procuring an authorization to conduct investment endeavors encompasses:

• petition parchment;
• knowledge concerning the concern (genres of endeavor, juridical domicile, commercial appellation, etc.);
• bundle of founding papers;
• validation of remittance of the national impost and privilege toll;
• a replication of the concern's gain and forfeiture declarations;
• replication of the impost enrolment warrant;
• replications of the travel papers of the recipients and overseers, validation of their illicit past, validation of their domicile, and the requisite proficiency for the overseers;
• replications of the scrutiny.

Timing and cost of obtaining an investment licence

Regarding the continuance of the application process and the bestowal of an investment franchise, these epochs diversify from land to land. The expenditure of a franchise also diversifies from land to land. It ought to be noted that in numerous dominions, no levy is imposed for the bestowal of a franchise, but a levy may be imposed for the reinstatement of the franchise.

Investment licence: permitted investment services

1. Receiving and promulgating mandates in regard to one or more pecuniary instruments.
2. Exercising mandates on behalf of patrons.
3. Assortment administration.
4. Investment counselor.
5. Subscription facilities.
6. Guardianship and stewardship of pecuniary instruments for patron reckonings, encompassing correlated amenities such as cash/securities governance.
7. Counsel to enterprises on capital composition, industrial maneuver and linked subjects, facilities in connection with amalgamations and acquisitions of enterprises.
8. Foreign exchange amenities, if correlated to the provisioning of investment facilities.
9. Investment exploration and financial scrutiny, alternative variants of comprehensive financial guidance facilities.

Investment activity of the company by country

In the current epoch, myriad proprietors are intrigued in acquiring this variety of sanction in Australia and New Zealand, as well as in several European nations.

Investment authorisations in European countries

If we contemplate European jurisdictions, the most sought-after countries among aliens desiring to procure an investment charter are Albion, Malta, Czechia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia.

Investment charter in the UK

may be acquired by a denizen of any realm. The FCA is the monetary overseer that oversees monetary amenities in this realm. The UK lawful structure employs entrenched decrees and statutes for the licensing of investment enterprises under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA) and also adheres to EU ordinances such as the MiFID II Directive.

Prerequisites for acquiring an investment leave in England:

• Enroll in the United Kingdom.
• Engage a minimum of pair (2) overseers who must manifest erudition and savoir-faire and surpass the FCA's ‘fit and proper’ assay.
• Indigenous personnel will necessitate to be engaged on a full-time basis to discharge pivotal roles of the enterprise, contingent on the intricacy and pursuits undertaken.

Investment amenities in Malta

are subject to the Investment Facilities Enactment ratified in 1994 and are overseen by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA). The Enactment has been revised and is consequently in accordance with EU statutes. Maltese firms holding an investment amenities permit can broaden their amenities in EU constituent regions without acquiring special authorizations in those regions.

The Malta Investment Amenities Authorization is necessary for those who desire to proffer amenities as principal or as proxy, to orchestrate transactions, to furnish trustee amenities, for investment overseers and consultants.

Under the Investment Facilities Enactment, the MFSA can dispense the ensuing varieties of investment permits in Malta:

A pecuniary concession in the Czech Republic might be procured, amidst sundry other avenues:

• commercial funds;
• brokers;
• banks;
• insurance companies.

The permit is issued to legal entities. If a natural person applies for a permit for investment activities in the Czech Republic, the entity must register its own company and open an account with a local bank. Regulatory authorities also impose certain requirements for the local office, local staff and the founder of the company.

Obtaining an investment licence in Hungary

can be quite attractive for entrepreneurs, as the country's financial system is actively developing and the range of investment services provided is quite extensive. Another advantage of this jurisdiction is that it is part of the European space, which favours the fact that companies with an investment licence can expand their business in other EU countries. An investment licence in Hungary will be issued to applicants only after a thorough check by the state authorised bodies of all beneficiaries, the company's activities as a whole, the company's articles of association, and the level of materiality of the company.

Investment licence in Latvia

is administered by a specialised Commission. The investment ‘group’ includes brokerage and forex companies, financial trustees (including accepting company investors' orders for execution), trading floor managers, etc.

If Latvia is chosen as the place of business, the investment licence will require the company to be registered in the country. The company must provide:

• availability of the authorised capital of more than 50 thousand EUR of own funds covering credit, currency and commodity risks;
• payment of the annual fee.

In order to obtain a licence to provide investment services when establishing a company, it is necessary to submit an application with a package of documentation: statements, company description and other documents. If all the conditions are strictly fulfilled, the decision to issue the licence will be made within three months. If the place of registration is Latvia, the investment licence is valid on the territory of other EU countries. In order to fully and legally operate in these countries, it is necessary to notify the national Commission about the expansion of activities and, if necessary, to undergo the certification procedure.

Investment licence in Lithuania

is dispensed by the Central Bank to a pecuniary institution in conformity with the methodology stipulated by the decrees of the Republic overseeing the bestowal of pecuniary amenities and the maneuvers of pecuniary establishments. The particulars of the amenities proffered, the demesne, zones of purposed operations, and the magnitude of projected investments ascertain the class of charter necessitated. The expense of the charter also hinges on the sort of charter.

Investment licence in Estonia

Is promulgated by the Fiscal Oversight Authority (EFSA). The lawful milieu of the Republic of Estonia enables proprietors to render specific pecuniary and venture amenities to their patrons in concordance with the Securities Marketplace Edict. The Estonian venture charter is sempiternal. When petitioning for a venture charter in Estonia, it is imperative to elect one or more realms of operation and proffer to the overseer the corroborative documentation stipulated in the statute for each chosen genus of operation.

Investment licence in Cyprus

Cyprus hath fully embraced all EU mandates and decrees pertaining to investment offices and pecuniary marts. Under the extant statute linked to MiFID II, an investment establishment licensed by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission may efficaciously proffer its services across the EU in consonance with the 'passporting' terms of its enrollment.

The minimal portion capital of a Cypriot enterprise petitioning for a Cyprus investment establishment permit relies on the amenities and undertakings to be tendered and furnished. The requisite minimal capital must be upheld at all junctures.

Conclusion

The activity of a company related to financial and investment services requires a specialised licence. YB Case specialists provide support in obtaining investment licences in different countries.

There are certain advantages in obtaining a licence in one or another jurisdiction, but it is important to take into account the specifics of the legislation of each of these countries. Please contact our specialists by any convenient way for you to receive additional information on the topic of this article.