Open Hedge Fund in Italy

Updated on Monday 21st November 2016

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The investment market in Italy is mainly comprised of retail funds and hedge funds. The retail funds are generally addressed to investors with a limited experience on the financial industry, while the hedge funds are established by professional investors, who are considered high net worth persons. Hedge funds in Italy fall under the regulations of the alternative investment funds and our team of Italian lawyers can offer legal assistance for the incorporation of this type of vehicle.

Regulatory framework for Italian hedge funds

Although the retail funds and hedge funds are set up for different investment strategies, they are regulated by the same laws.

The most important regulations which must be respected by any investor who wants to open a company registered as investment fund are the following:

• the Bank of Italy Act;

• the CONSOB Act.

The main institutions which supervise the activity of any type of investment fund established here, including the hedge funds, are the Bank of Italy and the Institutional Italian Securities and Exchange Commission (CONSOB).

CONSOB only deals with matters referring to the transparency of the financial activities and with investment fairness and investors may find out more details on the legal attributions of such entities from our attorneys in Italy.

Investors in a hedge fund in Italy

Businessmen who are interested in setting up an investment fund in Italy must know that hedge funds can be marketed to specific types of investors, as mentioned below:

• professional investors;

• non-professional investors (also referred to as retail investors), provided that certain conditions are met.

Non-professional investors can be accepted if they are the employees of an alternative investment fund and only if they can invest a minimum amount established at EUR 500,000.

As a general rule, those who will register a hedge fund in Italy are not imposed with any restrictions, but the situation can differ in the case of non-professional investors.

Entrepreneurs who want to find further information, such as the taxation aspects of an alternative investment fund, are invited to contact our law firm in Italy, where they can receive more details on the legislation referring to the registration of an Italian hedge fund.