Mutual Funds (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2024 (Act 18 of 2024)

Summary

This is an amending Act that makes several changes to the Mutual Funds Act (2021 Revision), the core law governing regulated mutual funds in the Cayman Islands. It updates cross-references to renumber Parts of the principal Act (e.g., 'Part I' becomes 'Part 1'), and adds new fee-related provisions and a new Cabinet power.

• Registration and administrative fees: Mutual funds must pay prescribed fees for registration and for administrative services connected with application forms.
• Non-refundable licence fee: The application fee for a Mutual Fund Licence is now expressly non-refundable.
• Periodic returns: Mutual funds must submit periodic returns to the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) in a prescribed form, manner and interval, accompanied by a prescribed fee.
• Cabinet waiver power: The Cabinet is given a new power to waive or reduce fees for persons in Cayman Brac or Little Cayman.

A significant part of the Act is retrospective validation: it deems lawful any fees that CIMA charged, collected or received prior to the Act's commencement for administrative services or return submissions, and any returns made or required to be made before commencement, even though CIMA may not have had clear statutory authority to do so at the time. This validation does not disturb any court order or determination made before commencement regarding those fees or returns.

The Act applies to regulated mutual funds and mutual fund licensees regulated under the Mutual Funds Act, and by extension to CIMA as the administering authority. It comes into force on a date to be fixed by Cabinet order (not yet specified in this text), and includes a transitional rule that application fees for Mutual Fund Licence applications still pending a decision on the day before commencement remain refundable, despite the new non-refundable rule.

Key obligations

• Mutual funds must pay any prescribed fees for registration, including fees for administrative services in filing an application form or amendments to it (new section 4(11)).
• Applicants for a Mutual Fund Licence must pay the prescribed application fee, which is now non-refundable, except where a decision on the application was pending on the day immediately before commencement, in which case the fee remains refundable (amended section 5(1)(d) and transitional section 9).
• Mutual funds must submit returns to the Authority in the prescribed form and manner, at prescribed intervals, accompanied by the prescribed fee (new section 29(2A)).
• Fees previously paid to, or collected by, CIMA without statutory authority for administrative services or return submissions, and returns previously made, are treated as validly charged/made under the amended Act (section 7).

Applies to

mutual funds, mutual fund licensees, applicants for a Mutual Fund Licence

Deadlines

• such date as may be appointed by Order made by the Cabinet: Commencement date of the Act, to be fixed by Cabinet order.
• the day immediately preceding the commencement of this amending and validating Act: Cut-off date determining whether a pending Mutual Fund Licence application fee remains refundable under the transitional provision.

Related documents

• Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision) replaces this document