Register For Our Mailing List

Register to receive our free weekly newsletter including editorials.

Home / 199

What Luxembourg and UCITS now offer Australian investors

Luxembourg, a small European country nestled between France, Belgium and Germany, has become the second-largest investment fund centre in the world after the United States. This article explains how the country has reached this position and explains what it can offer to Australian asset managers and investors.

UCITS: a spectacular European success story

The European fund industry is characterised by the success story of a truly European idea: UCITS, the acronym of Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities. What started in 1985 as a European Directive with the modest ambition of defining a single framework for investment funds within the European Union ended up as a strong global brand for investment funds that is now recognised around the world.

This directive gave a tremendous boost to the European investment fund industry. UCITS started to flourish in the late 1980s, in particular in Luxembourg, which was the first country to implement the directive into its national legislation in 1988. It was the start of a long and steady development. Today, assets under management by Luxembourg-domiciled funds have reached €3.7 trillion (AUD$5.3 trillion) in some 14,594 investment funds.

UCITS were initially intended only to be marketed across the European Union and saw the creation of a new concept called the ‘European Distribution Passport’, which implies that a fund domiciled in one European country can be sold easily to investors located in all the other countries of the European Union. Since then, a growing number of countries in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have accepted UCITS because the framework provides a stable, high-quality, well-regulated investment product with significant levels of investor protection. For example, in Latin America, Chilean, Peruvian and Columbian pension funds invest heavily in Luxembourg UCITS. For them, this is the most efficient way to get international diversification while offering a high level of investor protection.

Investor protection within the UCITS framework is a key concern of European policy-makers, with rules on diversification, risk management and capital requirements.

To date, UCITS is the only such fund model to achieve this international recognition. About 65% of all cross-border UCITS registrations belong to Luxembourg funds, which are distributed in more than 70 countries around the globe. Luxembourg gained a first mover advantage and attracted international fund promoters, and a professional and diversified asset servicing industry developed which in turn attracted more promoters. From a South Korean promoter selling Luxembourg UCITS to Hong Kong to a Brazilian promoter gathering retail investors from several European countries, UCITS have become truly international.

A major new development for Australia

Australia’s investors can now get easier access to Luxembourg UCITS. The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI), the official representative body for the Luxembourg investment fund industry, has successfully negotiated with ASIC an exemption from the obligation to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) to provide financial services in Australia. The exemption, which came into force in November 2016, applies to certain financial services providers regulated by the Luxembourg financial supervisory authority, the CSSF. It should increase the range of funds, including alternatives and global infrastructure, offered by overseas fund managers to Australians, circumventing the need to apply for an AFSL in Australia.

 

Pierre Oberlé is Senior Business Development Manager at ALFI. This article is general information that does not consider the circumstances of any individual.

About the AFS licence relief: The Australian financial services regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has issued ASIC Corporations (CSSF Regulated Financial Services Providers) Instrument 2016/1109 which sets out the conditions of this AFS licensing relief. It came into force on 16 November 2016. A copy of the Relief Instrument is available here.

  •   27 April 2017
  •      
  •   

 

Leave a Comment:

RELATED ARTICLES

Best and worst performing equity funds of 2020

Three areas SMSFs should consider outsourcing

banner

Most viewed in recent weeks

Retirement income expectations hit new highs

Younger Australians think they’ll need $100k a year in retirement - nearly double what current retirees spend. Expectations are rising fast, but are they realistic or just another case of lifestyle inflation?

Four best-ever charts for every adviser and investor

In any year since 1875, if you'd invested in the ASX, turned away and come back eight years later, your average return would be 120% with no negative periods. It's just one of the must-have stats that all investors should know.

Why super returns may be heading lower

Five mega trends point to risks of a more inflation prone and lower growth environment. This, along with rich market valuations, should constrain medium term superannuation returns to around 5% per annum.

The hidden property empire of Australia’s politicians

With rising home prices and falling affordability, political leaders preach reform. But asset disclosures show many are heavily invested in property - raising doubts about whose interests housing policy really protects.

Preparing for aged care

Whether for yourself or a family member, it’s never too early to start thinking about aged care. This looks at the best ways to plan ahead, as well as the changes coming to aged care from November 1 this year.

Our experts on Jim Chalmers' super tax backdown

Labor has caved to pressure on key parts of the Division 296 tax, though also added some important nuances. Here are six experts’ views on the changes and what they mean for you.        

Latest Updates

A speech from the Prime Minister on fixing housing

“Fellow Australians, I want to address our most pressing national issue: housing. For too long, governments have tiptoed around problems from escalating prices, but for the sake of our younger generations, that stops today.”        

Taxation

Family trusts: Are they still worth it?

Family trusts remain a core structure for wealth management, but rising ATO scrutiny and complex compliance raise questions about their ongoing value. Are the benefits still worth the administrative burden?

Exchange traded products

Multiple ways to win

Both active and passive investing can work, but active investment doesn’t in the way it is practised by many fund managers and passive investing doesn’t work in the way most end investors practise it. Here’s a better way.

Economy

The Future Fund may become a 'bad bank' for problem home loans

The Future Fund says it will not be paying defined benefit pensions until at least 2033 - raising as many questions as answers. This points to an increasingly uncertain future for Australia's sovereign wealth fund.

Investment strategies

Managed accounts and the future of portfolio construction

With $233 billion under management, managed accounts are evolving into diversified, transparent, and liquid investment frameworks. The rise of ETFs and private markets marks a shift in portfolio design and discipline. 

Property

Commercial property prospects are looking up

Commercial property is seeing the same supply issues as the residential market. Given the chronic undersupply and a recent pickup in demand, it bodes well for an upturn in commercial real estate prices.

Infrastructure

Private toll roads need a shake-up

Privatised toll roads in Australia help governments avoid upfront costs but often push financial risks onto taxpayers while creating monopolies and unfair toll burdens for commuters and businesses.

Sponsors

Alliances

© 2025 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Disclaimer
The data, research and opinions provided here are for information purposes; are not an offer to buy or sell a security; and are not warranted to be correct, complete or accurate. Morningstar, its affiliates, and third-party content providers are not responsible for any investment decisions, damages or losses resulting from, or related to, the data and analyses or their use. To the extent any content is general advice, it has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892), without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a professional financial adviser. Articles are current as at date of publication.
This website contains information and opinions provided by third parties. Inclusion of this information does not necessarily represent Morningstar’s positions, strategies or opinions and should not be considered an endorsement by Morningstar.