Download Monetary and Financial Code

Monetary and Financial Code – Legislative Section
Depending on the form taken, it shall be designated a
"contractual investment company" or a "contractual investment
fund" respectively.
As an exception to the provisions of Article L. 214-4, the
rules or constitutional documents of the contractual collective
investment scheme shall determine the rules of investment and
commitment.
Inserted by Act No. 2003-706 of 1 August 2003 Art. 63 I Official Journal of
2 August 2003
Amended by Order No. 2008-1081 of 23 October 2008 Art. 2 Official
Journal of 24 October 2008
Article L. 214-35-3. - The first and third paragraphs of Article
L. 214-35-1 shall apply to contractual collective investment
schemes. The General Regulation of the Autorité des Marchés
Financiers shall determine the conditions under which the units
or shares in such schemes may be subscribed or purchased by
other investors in keeping, inter alia, with the nature thereof and
the level of risk that the scheme presents.
Inserted by Act No. 2003-706 of 1 August 2003 Art. 63 I Official Journal of
2 August 2003
Article L. 214-35-4. - The formation, conversion, merger,
demerger or liquidation of a contractual collective investment
scheme is not subject to approval from the Autorité des Marchés
Financiers, but must be declared to it as indicated in its General
Regulation within one month of completion.
The General Regulation also determines how subscribers are
informed of the investment rules specific to that scheme,
including the ways in which it may depart from Article L. 214-4,
as well as the periodicity and modus operandi of the net asset
value calculation.
Inserted by Act No. 2003-706 of 1 August 2003 Art. 63 I Official Journal of
2 August 2003
Article L. 214-35-5. As an exception to the second paragraph
of Article L. 214-15 and the first paragraph of Article L. 214-20,
the rules or constitutional documents of the contractual collective
investment scheme set out the terms and conditions of issue,
subscription, transfer and redemption of units and shares.
The rules or constitutional documents of a contractual
collective investment scheme stipulate the net asset value below
which it must be dissolved.
The scheme's rules or constitutional documents also stipulate
the terms and conditions applicable to any amendment thereof.
Failing this, any amendment shall require a unanimous vote of the
shareholders or unitholders.
II. - As an exception to paragraph 1 of Article L2 14-17, the
rules or constitutional documents may stipulate a fractional
paying-up of subscribed units or shares. These units or shares are
in registered form. Where the units or shares are transferred, the
subscriber and the successive transferees are jointly and severally
liable for the amount that is not paid up. If the unitholder or
shareholder should fail to pay the sums remaining due in respect
of the units or shares held at the times specified by the
management company and, where necessary, by the SICAV, the
management company shall send him a formal demand. If the
said demand is ineffective one month after its delivery, the
management company and, where necessary, the SICAV, may
transfer those units or shares without any authorisation from the
court, or it may, under the conditions provided for in the
organisation's constitutional documents or rules, suspend
entitlement to the payment of the sums available for distribution
referred to in Article L. 214-10. Once the principal and interest of
the sums due have been paid, the shareholder or unitholder may
request the payment of any unallocated sums available for
distribution.
The rules or constitutional documents may provide for the
management company or a third-party, under the conditions
established by the rules or constitutional documents, to receive a
portion of the assets in the event the scheme is liquidated.
Inserted by Act No. 2003-706 of 1 August 2003 Art. 63 I Official Journal of
2 August 2003
Amended by Order No. 2008-1081 of 23 October 2008 Art. 2 Official
Journal of 24 October 2008
Article L. 214-35-6. Considering, inter alia, the manner in
which such undertakings are managed, a contractual collective
investment scheme may only be managed by a management
company specially approved for that purpose as provided for in
the General Regulation of the Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
Inserted by Act No. 2003-706 of 1 August 2003 Art. 63 I Official Journal of
2 August 2003
Subsection 10 Venture capital funds (Fonds communs de
placement à risques)
Subsection number amended by Order No. 2005-429 amending the Monetary
and Financial Code Art. 24 Official Journal of 7 May 2005
Article L. 214-36. - 1. At least 50% of the assets of a venture
capital fund (fonds commun de placement à risques, FCPR) must consist
of equity-like securities, equity securities or securities which give
direct or indirect access to the capital of companies which are not
admitted to trading on a French or foreign regulated market and
whose operations are managed by a market undertaking, an
investment service provider or any similar foreign entity, or, as an
exception to Article L. 214-20, shares in limited liability
companies or companies having an equivalent status in their State
of residence.
2. The assets may also include:
a) Subject to a limit of 15%, current account advances
granted to companies in which the fund holds at least 5% of the
capital for the term of the investment made. Such advances are
taken into account for calculation of the quota referred to in
paragraph 1 when they are granted to companies that meet the
conditions for inclusion in that quota;
b) Rights pertaining to a financial investment in an entity
created in a Member State of the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development with the principal objective of
investing in companies whose equity securities are not admitted
to trading on a market indicated in paragraph 1. Such rights are
included in the fund's investment quota of 50% only up to the
percentage of the direct investment of the assets of the entity
concerned in companies eligible for that same quota.
3. Equity securities, or securities giving access to the capital
which are admitted to trading on a market indicated in
paragraph 1 of a Member State of the European Economic Area
and are issued by companies whose market capitalisation is below
150 million euros, are also eligible for the investment quota
referred to in paragraph 1, subject to a limit of 20% of the fund's
assets. The market capitalisation is evaluated on the basis of the
average of the opening prices of the sixty trading days preceding
the investment date. A decree issued following consultation with
the Conseil d'Etat shall determine how the said evaluation shall be
applied in the event, inter alia, of an initial listing or a company
restructuring operation.
4. Where the securities of a company held by an FCPR are
admitted to trading on a French or foreign financial instruments
market whose operations are managed by a market undertaking,
an investment service provider or any similar foreign entity, they
continue to be included in the investment quota of 50% for a
period of five years with effect from their admission. The five-