The Capital Market Authority (CMA) emphasized that the terms and conditions of any investment fund approved to offer units must be updated annually. The fund manager must update the terms and conditions to show the actual fees, expenses and revised performance information and send the revised terms and condition to all unitholders without charge. CMA stresses that an investor has the right to file a complaint in case the fund manager refuses to supply the edited copy. Fund managers must send a detailed report to unitholders every three months that includes the net asset value of total fund units, the number of and net value of fund units owned by the unitholder, and a record of transactions specific to the unitholder including payment of dividends subsequent to the last report provided to the unitholders. Audited financial statement must also be provided to unitholders without charge.
Investors’ rights in investment funds include – as stated in Investment Funds Regulations and Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations - notifying them of any material changes to the terms and conditions by sending a summary of those changes at least sixty (60) calendar days in advance of the effective date of the changes.
CMA requires that the terms and conditions of the investment fund include at least the following information: Name of the investment fund, Addresses of the head office, the fund manager and any website for information about the investment fund and/or its fund manager, the date set for accepting subscriptions, the regulator, the date in which the terms and conditions of the fund were issued or last updated, and state the minimum entry level for investment in the fund, if any. In addition, the terms and conditions of the investment fund must include the currency of the fund and its objectives and principal risks, the fees and expenses, dealing costs, winding-up and the appointment of a liquidator, the Fund board and Fund manager, Custodian, Auditor, Annual audited financial statements, and the characteristics of the units.
CMA publishes on its official website a list of all the approved investment funds to be listed and established and managed by the Authorised Persons (financial institutions). The list keeps investors informed of the investment funds approved by CMA to be established and offer units to the public. This includes all investment funds with different assets and investments whether they target national or foreign markets, sukook or money markets. Note that the approval is issued for the funds after fulfilling all the requirements according to the Investment Funds Regulations or the Real Estate Investment Funds Regulations.
Last year, the investment funds sector achieved an impressive growth in its assets which reached SR162.1 billion by the end of the year, up 16 percent from 2013. The number of investment funds also grew as they reached 578 funds by the end of last year ( 263 public funds and 315 private funds).
CMA urges fund managers to give investors their rights and emphasizes that any investor can file an official complaint through CMA's official channels (website and fax) or deliver the complaint to the investors’ complaints office at CMA's head office.
