Special information to unitholders and shareholders of collective investment undertakings : the AMF publishes a guide and new letter templates

Some changes made during the life of UCITS and certain AIFs require special information to be provided to unitholders or shareholders to enable them to decide whether to keep or dispose of their investment with full knowledge of the facts. These changes are in the form of a "letter to unitholders". As these information letters are increasing long and complex, the AMF has decided to publish new templates and a guide.

New templates for letters to unitholders or shareholders

AMF Instructions DOC-2011-19, DOC-2011-20, DOC-2011-21, DOC-2011-22 and DOC-2011-23, and more specifically their annexes entitled "Standard template for individual notification of unitholders or shareholders" have been updated to specify the content and formalisation expected from information letters sent to unitholders or shareholders of UCITS, retail investment funds, funds of alternative funds and professional investment funds, employee savings funds, private equity funds and real estate collective investment undertakings and professional real estate collective investment undertakings.

Publication of a guide for writing letters to approved UCI unitholders

To assist asset management companies, the AMF has published a guide that sets out the main principles to be observed when writing letters to unitholders or shareholders.

It stresses the need to adopt a clear and concise style that will make it easy for investors to understand by presenting the information in a simple manner, using visual elements, charts or adding a glossary that defines certain technical terms, if necessary.

Implementation timetable

Approved collective asset management companies (UCITS, retail investment funds, funds of alternative funds, professional investment funds, employee savings funds, retail private equity investment funds, retail venture capital investment funds, retail local investment funds, real estate collective investment undertakings and professional real estate collective investment undertakings) will have to comply with these templates by using the guide as from 1 September 2021.