infonet-economy

Ucits were a series of directives issued by the European Commission whose aim was the facilitation of cross-border marketing and selling of collective investment schemes. This regulatory framework has recently gained popularity as an investment vehicle for hedge fund strategies. This trend can be explained in part by customers shying away from direct investments into hedge funds and their lack of transparency. For some, the importance of Ucits is inevitable and the competition will grow over time. For others, the constraints imposed by the Ucits regulatory environment will prevent these investment vehicles from seriously competing with hedge funds. In this chapter, we analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the Ucits framework. In particular, we study the different solutions that are proposed and analyze how adequate they are to offer hedge fund-like returns. For each strategy or hedge fund style, we then emphasize the strengths and weaknesses of the Alternative Ucits solution.