SICAV

A “Société d’investissement à capital variable” or SICAV is a category of Swiss limited liability company with variable capital which operates entirely as a collective investment. Companies categorized as SICAVs must register with FINMA. This category of company is primarily used by open-end investment funds.

In order to meet FINMA requirements, SICAVs must achieve total assets of 5 million Swiss francs within their first year of operation. Its assets must be held by a custodian bank.

Unlike a SICAF, which must hold a fixed amount of capital at all times, a SICAV may have variable capital. Another difference is that SICAVs are not required to hold enough cash to cover the nominal value of their shares, while SICAFs are require to do so.

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