29. Juni 2011 – Regulatory Update on Collective Investment Funds: Simplified Prospectus to be replaced by Key Investor Document (KID)

As of 1 July 2011, the European UCITS IV Directive (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) will replace the simplified prospectus with a standardised simplified prospectus, the key information document (KID), for certain types of investments in securities. The main objective of introducing the KID is to enhance investor protection. The KID is intended to present collective investment schemes to the average investor in a clear, comprehensible, and comparable manner.

Given these developments on the European level, the Swiss Federal Council has now passed an amendment to the Ordinance on Collective Investment Schemes, which will substitute the simplified prospectus with the KID in Switzerland as well. The new provisions, which are attached below, will come into force as early as of 15 July 2011.

by Enrico Friz and Thomas S. Müller