Malta Alternative Investment Fund

The Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) regulates collective investment schemes in Malta. The Maltese Investment Services Act (the Act) provides the statutory basis for regulating investment funds constituted in or from Malta. Malta’s legislation is in line with EU law and built on best practices from other finance centres. MFSA regulates all financial services.

Key Features

An Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) is a pan-European regulated branded investment fund for

professional and sophisticated investors. Some key characteristics of the AIF regime:

• A regulated EU structure under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive
• Suitable for all investment strategies — including traditional and alternative — and all asset classes
• Five different classifications — retail, experienced, professional, qualifying and extraordinary — depending on the proposed target investors
• Light diversification and leverage rules depending on target investor
• Single fund or multi-fund structure, combining different investment strategies or asset classes in different sub-funds
• Possibility of internally managed (self-managed) AIFs
• Availability of marketing passporting of AIFs to all EU member states

Legal Requirements

Tax Treatment

Income from collective investment schemes in Malta is tax exempt. However, if the value for the assets in Malta allocated to the fund is 85% of the value of the total assets, the fund is liable to a withholding tax on income from Malta sources of 10% to 15%.

Duration to Set Up

About 2 months

Distinctive Benefits of Licence

• Attractive fiscal environment
• Generally fast regulatory approval environment

The Valsen Advantage

• End to end comprehensive service
• Speedy and efficient service
• Expert advice on structuring options
• Dedicated ongoing compliance support
• Extensive network pool of service providers