Finance Act 2004

Treatment of umbrella funds and funds comprising more than one class of interest

3At the beginning of Chapter 5 of Part 17 of that Act (offshore funds) insert—

“Meaning of offshore fund

756AGeneral definition of offshore fund

(1)In this Chapter references to an offshore fund are to a collective investment scheme constituted by—

(a)a company that is resident outside the United Kingdom, or

(b)a unit trust scheme the trustees of which are not resident in the United Kingdom, or

(c)arrangements not falling within paragraph (a) or (b) taking effect by virtue of the law of a territory outside the United Kingdom and which under that law create rights in the nature of co-ownership (without restricting that expression to its meaning in the law of any part of the United Kingdom).

(2)Subsection (1) has effect subject to—

• section 756B (treatment of umbrella funds), and

• section 756C (treatment of funds comprising more than one class of interest).

(3)In this section “collective investment scheme” has the meaning given by section 235 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

756BTreatment of umbrella funds

(1)In this Chapter, an “umbrella fund” means an offshore fund—

(a)which provides arrangements for separate pooling of the contributions of the participants and the profits or income out of which payments are made to them; and

(b)under which the participants are entitled to exchange rights in one pool for rights in another;

and references in this Chapter to a part of an umbrella fund are to such of the arrangements as relate to a separate pool.

(2)For the purposes of this Chapter (except subsection (1))—

(a)each part of an umbrella fund shall be regarded as a separate offshore fund, and

(b)the umbrella fund as a whole shall not be regarded as an offshore fund.

(3)In this Chapter, in relation to a part of an umbrella fund—

(a)a reference to the assets of an offshore fund is to such of the assets of the umbrella fund as under the arrangements form part of the separate pool to which that part of the umbrella fund relates;

(b)a reference to the income of an offshore fund is to the income arising from those assets;

(c)a reference to a person having an interest in an offshore fund is to a person for the time being having an interest in that separate pool; and

(d)a reference to an offshore fund being a non-qualifying fund shall be read in relation to times before the coming into force of this section as a reference to the umbrella fund being a non-qualifying fund.

756CTreatment of funds comprising more than one class of interest

(1)For the purposes of this Chapter where there is more than one class of interest in an offshore fund (the “main fund”)—

(a)each class of interest shall be regarded as a separate offshore fund, and

(b)the main fund shall not be regarded as an offshore fund.

(2)In this section, references to a class of interest in an offshore fund do not include—

(a)a part of an umbrella fund which is regarded as an offshore fund by virtue of section 756B, or

(b)a class of interest in an offshore fund which by virtue of section 759(5), (6) or (8) is not a material interest in the fund.

(3)In this Chapter, in relation to a class of interest in an offshore fund—

(a)a reference to the assets of an offshore fund is to the assets of the main fund;

(b)a reference to the income of an offshore fund is to such of the income of the main fund as is attributable to interests of that class under the arrangements constituting the main fund;

(c)a reference to a person having an interest in an offshore fund is to a person for the time being having an interest of that class; and

(d)a reference to an offshore fund being a non-qualifying fund shall be read in relation to times before the coming into force of this section as a reference to the main fund being a non-qualifying fund.”.