Investment Management Association

The way funds are promoted and sold

Sales restrictions 

Regulations also dictate where and to whom authorised funds can be promoted and sold. Here, European regulations known as UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) come into play. The aim is that you, as a private investor, can freely choose from a range of funds (UCITS) from EU countries, safe in the knowledge that all are regulated to the same high standard.  

Funds which are authorised outside the UK are often called offshore funds. Though the term 'offshore' is usually associated with tax havens, such as the Cayman Islands, it refers in this context to funds which are authorised in EU countries, and which, if they are also UCITS, can be sold freely to UK investors. 

UK authorised funds that do not comply with UCITS, but can be sold to UK retail investors, are known as non-UCITS retail schemes, or NURS.   

Find out more about authorised funds, UCITS and NURS

Find out more about offshore funds     

Buying and selling

You can buy authorised funds direct from many fund management companies. You can also buy and sell funds through financial advisers and from some fund platforms and some insurance companies. Banks and building societies may also offer them, but then could be a more limited choice.

Units or shares in most retail funds can be bought or sold on each working day. One benefit of investing in funds is that you can cash-in your investments on any dealing day. However, some funds might deal less regularly (eg. once a month), and this will be made clear in the fund literature.  

Funds can suspend dealing only in very specific circumstances and there are prescriptive rules on how this works. Both the regulator and the trustee or depositary are heavily involved in such circumstances.

Find out more about fund suspensions                

Controls on prices and charges

The way in which fund units or shares are priced is subject to rules on methodology and controls. Funds can use one of three pricing methods – dual pricing, single pricing with dilution levy, or swinging single pricing. There are also rules on what expenses can be charged to the fund and how fund costs are disclosed to investors. The costs and charges will be made clear in the fund literature.

Find out more about fund pricing

Read about fund costs and charges