funds

Who is caught

These instruments make up the Cayman Islands framework administered by CIMA for collective investment vehicles and the persons who operate, administer and direct them. Coverage spans open-ended mutual funds, closed-ended private funds, their administrators, EU-connected structures, tokenised variants, and the directors of these entities.

• Regulated mutual funds: Open-ended companies, unit trusts and partnerships that pool investor funds and issue redeemable equity interests, licensed or otherwise regulated under the Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision), including master funds, feeder funds and sub-funds.
• Mutual fund administrators: Persons carrying on mutual fund administration business in or from the Islands, under either a Full or a Restricted Mutual Fund Administrators Licence.
• Private funds: Companies, unit trusts and partnerships that pool investor money for collective investment where investors lack day-to-day control, registrable under the Private Funds Act (2025 Revision).
• EU Connected Funds: Cayman funds marketed into the EU under AIFMD private placement arrangements, whether or not they are themselves regulated mutual funds.
• Tokenised funds: Tokenised mutual funds and tokenised private funds that represent equity or investment interests using digital tokens, brought into scope by the 2026 amendments to the Mutual Funds and Private Funds Acts.
• Directors of covered entities: Registered, professional and corporate directors of covered entities (mutual funds and certain securities investment business companies) under the Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014, regardless of the director's residence.
• Retail mutual funds (Japan): Mutual funds licensed under section 4(1)(a) of the Mutual Funds Act that make or intend a public offering in Japan.

CIMA's own governing statute was amended to classify the Private Funds Law as a regulatory law, extending CIMA's supervisory and enforcement framework to private funds and their operators.

Sources: Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014 (Law 10 of 2014) · Monetary Authority (Amendment) Law, 2020 (Law 3 of 2020) · Mutual Fund Administrators Licence (Applications) Regulations, 2001 · Mutual Funds (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 5 of 2026) · Mutual Funds (Annual Returns) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Mutual Funds (EU Connected Fund (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive)) Regulations, 2016 · Mutual Funds (Fees) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Private Funds (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 6 of 2026) · Private Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Retail Mutual Funds (Japan) Regulations (2023 Revision) · Virtual Asset (Service Providers) (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 4 of 2026)

Key duties

Registration and licensing

• Mutual funds: Persons operating a vehicle meeting the mutual fund definition must be licensed or otherwise regulated under the Mutual Funds Act rather than operating unregulated.
• Private funds: In-scope private funds must register with CIMA before operating, unless within an exemption or non-fund arrangement.
• Administrators: Persons carrying on mutual fund administration must hold a Mutual Fund Administrators Licence; a Full Licence applicant must show net worth of at least US$400,000.
• Directors: Any natural person directing a covered entity must register with CIMA; a person directing 20 or more covered entities (a professional director) must be licensed and carry insurance of at least US$1,000,000 aggregate and per claim; corporate directors must be licensed and appoint at least two registered or licensed natural persons.

Annual filings, audits and fees

• Mutual fund annual return: Each regulated mutual fund (and sub-fund) must file an annual return with CIMA within six months after its financial year end, submitted through an auditor appointed under section 8 or another designated person.
• Private fund annual return: Each registered private fund must file an annual return within six months after its financial year end, including an operator declaration confirming compliance with the valuation, safekeeping and cash monitoring provisions (sections 16 to 18).
• Annual audit: Regulated mutual funds and registered private funds must have their accounts audited annually; licensed mutual fund administrators must also be audited annually.
• Annual fees: Regulated mutual funds, private funds, administrators and licensed directors must pay prescribed annual fees; the private fund base annual registration fee is CI$4,125 (with additional amounts per vehicle or portfolio), and directors' annual fees are due on or before 15 January each year with a monthly surcharge for late payment.
• EU Connected Fund confirmation: Within six months of financial year end, an EU Connected Fund must confirm its filed information is unchanged and that it continues to be marketed lawfully in each Member State.

Notifications and cessation

• Change notifications: Directors must notify CIMA within 21 days of any change to previously submitted information; private funds and EU Connected Funds must likewise inform CIMA of changes, the latter within 21 days.
• Cessation notice: A regulated mutual fund or registered private fund must notify CIMA within 21 days of ceasing (or intending to cease) business, or within 21 days of a resolution that it never carried on business, and pay a surrender fee to complete cancellation.

Governance, valuation and disclosure

• Valuation and safekeeping: Private funds must maintain valuation policies, arrange safekeeping of custodial assets, implement cash monitoring, and identify securities held.
• NAV policy: Regulated mutual funds and registered private funds must adopt a written NAV Calculation Policy, calculated at least quarterly (funds) or at least annually (private funds), with operator review and approval at least annually.
• Offering and marketing disclosure: Regulated mutual funds must include prescribed content, including the mandatory CIMA disclaimer, in offering documents; registered private funds must include equivalent prescribed disclosures in marketing material.
• Tokenised funds: Operators of tokenised mutual and private funds must confirm annually that token issuance, transfer and ownership records are properly kept, restrict transfers to operator-approved transactions, disclose token-specific risks in the offering document, and comply with any characteristic restrictions and periodic reporting CIMA imposes.

Sources: Directors Registration and Licensing (Registration and Licensing) Regulations, 2014 · Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014 (Law 10 of 2014) · Mutual Fund Administrators Licence (Applications) Regulations, 2001 · Mutual Funds (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 5 of 2026) · Mutual Funds (Annual Returns) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Mutual Funds (EU Connected Fund (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive)) Regulations, 2016 · Mutual Funds (Fees) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Private Funds (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 6 of 2026) · Private Funds (Annual Returns) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Private Funds (Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2025 (SL 70 of 2025) · Private Funds (Fees) Regulations, 2024 · Private Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Rule - Cancellation of Licences or Certificates of Registration for Regulated Mutual Funds and Private Funds (August 2022) · Rule - Calculation of Asset Values - Regulated Mutual Funds (July 2020) · Rule - Calculation of Net Asset Values - Registered Private Funds (July 2020) · Rule - Contents of Offering Documents - Regulated Mutual Funds (May 2020) · Rule - Contents of Marketing Material - Registered Private Funds

Exemptions and carve-outs

The instruments provide several carve-outs and transitional reliefs across the mutual funds and private funds regimes.

• Private fund exclusions: The Private Funds Act excludes certain licensed banks and insurers, building and friendly societies, and specified non-fund arrangements listed in the Schedule (for example pension funds, joint ventures, single family offices and securitisation SPVs).
• Pre-capital private funds: Operators of a private fund under section 3(2) that has not received capital contributions for investment purposes (so that Part 3 does not yet apply) need only file an annual declaration to that effect within six months of the relevant financial year end.
• Director licensing exemption: Certain persons connected to companies management licence holders, mutual fund administrators or overseas-regulated fund managers are exempt from the professional director licensing requirement but must still register.
• Transitional grace period: Private funds carrying on business before, or within six months of, the commencement of the Private Funds Law, 2020 could continue without complying until 7 August 2020, or a later date CIMA specified.
• Fee reduction: A 50% reduction of certain annual mutual fund fees is available where CIMA is satisfied the holder ceased business before the due date, becoming immediately repayable if new business is taken on that year.
• NAV rule scope: The NAV calculation Rule for registered private funds does not apply to Alternative Investment Vehicles.
• Japan grandfathering: The Retail Mutual Funds (Japan) Regulations do not apply to funds already offering into Japan before 17 November 2003 unless they elect in writing to be covered.
• Token issuance and trade licensing: Digital token issuance by tokenised funds complying with the relevant Act is excluded from virtual asset issuance under the VASP regime, and both Acts provide an exemption from the Trade and Business Licensing Act.

Sources: Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014 (Law 10 of 2014) · Mutual Funds (Fees) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Private Funds (Savings and Transitional Provisions) Regulations, 2020 (SL 5 of 2020) · Private Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Private Funds Regulations (2022 Revision) · Retail Mutual Funds (Japan) Regulations (2023 Revision) · Virtual Asset (Service Providers) (Amendment) Act, 2026 (Act 4 of 2026) · Rule - Calculation of Net Asset Values - Registered Private Funds (July 2020)

Enforcement and penalties

Enforcement is exercised through CIMA's broad supervisory powers under the sector Acts and its administrative fines regime, backed by specific offences in individual instruments.

• Administrative fines: The Monetary Authority (Administrative Fines) Regulations let CIMA impose fixed, fixed-continuing or discretionary fines for breaches of prescribed provisions (including mutual funds, private funds and securities laws) classified as minor, serious or very serious, following a breach notice; a party may rectify a fixed-fine breach and notify CIMA within 30 days, reply within the stated period, seek internal review of a fixed fine, or apply to the Grand Court for leave to appeal a discretionary fine.
• CIMA supervisory powers: Under the Mutual Funds Act and Private Funds Act, CIMA may call for information, conduct special audits, direct capital increases, act against unregulated funds or unlicensed administrators, exercise search-warrant powers, and impose special measures; auditors have statutory duties to report certain matters.
• Director offences: Acting as a director without the required registration or licence is a criminal offence carrying fines and/or imprisonment under the Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014.
• Annual return offence: An operator of a regulated mutual fund that contravenes the annual return requirements commits an offence liable to a fine of five hundred dollars.
• EU Connected Fund offence: Failure to comply with the core submission and notification obligations of the EU Connected Fund Regulations is an offence punishable on conviction by a fine of CI$5,000.
• Cancellation Rule: Breach of the Rule on cancellation of licences or certificates can attract penalties under section 34 of the Monetary Authority Act and further enforcement under CIMA's Enforcement Manual and the relevant Act.

Affected persons may appeal certain CIMA decisions to the Grand Court, including a director's appeal against cancellation, suspension or revocation within 21 days, though lodging an appeal does not suspend the decision.

Sources: Directors Registration and Licensing (Amendment) Law, 2015 (Law 5 of 2015) · Directors Registration and Licensing Law, 2014 (Law 10 of 2014) · Monetary Authority (Administrative Fines) Regulations (2025 Revision) · Mutual Funds (Annual Returns) Regulations (2026 Revision) · Mutual Funds (EU Connected Fund (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive)) Regulations, 2016 · Mutual Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Private Funds Act (2025 Revision) · Rule - Cancellation of Licences or Certificates of Registration for Regulated Mutual Funds and Private Funds (August 2022)