CG41561 | Open-ended investment companies (OEICs): introduction

OEICs are a form of retail investment fund constituted as companies under a specialcorporate code. Like other companies, OEICs issue shares and have a Board of Directors.However, unlike Companies Act companies, the share capital of an OEIC can continuallyvary. The number of shares in issue will go up and down according to whether there is anet inflow or outflow of investment. OEICs are regulated by the Financial ServicesAuthority. They might in many ways be considered the corporate equivalent of an authorisedunit trust and the close correspondence between OEICs and authorised unit trusts (AUTs) ismade clear by Statutory Instrument number 964 of 2006 (SI2006/964). This refers toauthorised investment funds (AIFs), which include both OEICs and AUTs, and includesmeasures to ensure that the tax treatment both of the AIFs themselves and of the investorsin them is consistent regardless of whether the chosen in-vestment vehicle is an OEIC oran AUT. See CTM48000+ for a general description of AIFs.

See CG41300+ and CG57680+ for instructions on unit trusts and unit holders.