The Charity Commission has published a blog post, highlighting the fact that it has now registered its first Charitable Authorised Investment Fund (CAIF).

A CAIF is a form of collective investment scheme which is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, as well as being authorised by and registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. Plans to introduce this new fund structure were announced in the 2015 Spring Budget and a model structure for CAIFs was announced in October 2016.

Although charitable collective investment arrangements were already available, in the form of common investment funds (CIFs), CAIFs offer the advantages of FCA authorisation and regulation, and the ability to operate as a unit trust. It will be possible for existing CIFs to be transferred into this new CAIF structure and continue to serve charity clients.

For more information, you can read a Commentary by Grania Bird, partner at Farrer & Co. To enquire about setting up a new CAIFs or converting a CIF into a CAIF, contact the Charity Commission’s Charitable Status Legal team.