The Collective Investment Schemes (Qualifying Professional Investor Funds) (Class Q) Rules 2021
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The Class Q Rules govern open-ended funds that the GFSC authorises for qualifying professional investors only. The Rules prescribe no numerical investment limits. The fund is held to the limits disclosed in its own particulars (Rule 3.3(2)). Every scheme needs a designated administrator and a separate designated custodian or trustee, each confirmed by the GFSC (Rules 5.3 and 5.5). The Rules cite themselves as the Class Q Rules, 2021 (Rule 12.4).
Scope and the core mechanism
The Rules apply to every Class Q Scheme. The GFSC may exclude or modify any rule by written notice to the designated administrator (Rule 1.1.1(2)). In an umbrella or multi-class fund, the Rules apply to each part of the fund, unless a rule says otherwise (Rule 1.1.2).
The core duty is in Rule 2.1.1. The manager, and for a company scheme the company and its directors, must take all reasonable steps to keep units in the beneficial ownership of qualifying professional investors only. Procedures must require each potential investor to confirm that it meets the definition. Fully paid units may pass to someone who does not qualify on death, bankruptcy, désastre, curatelle or similar proceedings. If such a person becomes entitled to partly paid units, including under a Guernsey Court order, the manager must redeem them as soon as practicable (Rule 2.1.2).
Authorisation is a declaration under section 8 of the POI Law. The manager applies with a certificate that the information particulars comply, the signed or certified documents and the fee (Rule 10.1). The application names the proposed designated administrator and designated trustee or custodian. Guidance to Rule 10.2 says the GFSC confirms both designations when it authorises the scheme.
Key provisions
| Provision | What it says | The practical point |
|---|---|---|
| Investor test (Rule 11.1) | A government or public authority qualifies. So does the trustee of a trust with net assets over £2,000,000. A company or limited partnership qualifies if it, its holding company or a subsidiary has net assets over £2,000,000 (Rule 11.1(2)). | An individual qualifies with a net worth, with any spouse, of at least £500,000, excluding the main residence and household goods. Each test applies at the time of investment. |
| Investment and borrowing (Rule 3.3) | The property must be invested to spread risk, within the limits disclosed in the particulars (Rule 3.3(1) and (2)). Guidance leaves the spread to the manager, or in a company scheme the company. | A breach must be rectified as soon as reasonably practicable. The GFSC is notified if it is not rectified within three months (Rule 3.3(6)). |
| Fees and associated funds (Rules 3.2 and 3.3(3)) | Fees not disclosed in the particulars need GFSC notice, prior notice to holders and revised particulars (Rule 3.2(2)). | A Class Q fund buying into a scheme run by its manager or an associate must not bear that scheme's entry or exit charges (Rule 3.3(3)). |
| Manager and custodian (Rule 5.4) | The manager and the custodian or trustee must be different, independent persons. Each must be licensed under the Law, with a place of business in Guernsey (Rule 5.4(1)). | Neither may be the other's subsidiary or share executive directors or officers (Rule 5.4(1)(c) and (d)). The custodian of a company scheme may not share them with the company either (Rule 5.4(2)). |
| Prior notice (Rule 5.4) | The designated administrator gives prior written notice of extra fees and of changes to investment or borrowing powers (Rule 5.4(3)). The same applies to a new custodian or trustee. | So does a change to holders' voting rights or their share in scheme property or income. A proposal to replace the manager is notified by the custodian or trustee (Rule 5.4(4)). |
| Designations (Rule 5.5) | Every scheme must have a designated administrator. A new administrator, custodian or trustee takes office only once the GFSC confirms the designation (Rule 5.5(2)). | Under Rule 11.1, "manager" means the designated administrator, or both it and any principal manager. Duties under the Rules can fall on both. |
| Custody (Rule 5.3) | Every scheme must have a designated custodian or trustee, which takes all scheme property into its custody or control (Rule 5.3(1) and (3)). | It may delegate to anyone except the manager, if it stays satisfied that the delegate is competent. Title documents may not leave its control without its consent (Rule 5.3(4) and (5)). |
| Accounts and particulars (Rules 7 and 9) | The manager publishes the audited annual report within six months of the period end (Rule 7.2(1)). A copy goes to the GFSC with the manager's signed confirmation of compliance (Rule 7.2(3)). | Information particulars follow the Schedule and are revised for any significant change, with a copy to the GFSC (Rule 9.1). They must define the eligible investor (Schedule 1, item 3). |
| Quarterly returns | The Class Q Rules contain no statistical return rule. The GFSC states that designated administrators of all authorised and registered schemes submit quarterly statistical returns (GFSC fund supervision). | The return is filed by the designated administrator, in the GFSC's form. |
Amendment history
| Date | Instrument | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Collective Investment Schemes (Qualifying Professional Investor Funds) (Class Q) Rules, 1998 (G.S.I. No. 5 of 1998) | The predecessor under the 1987 Law. Its authorisations stay valid, and its exclusions continue where the 2021 Rules allow (Rule 12.2). |
| 1 Nov 2021 | Class Q Rules, 2021 | Came into force on 1 November 2021 (Rule 12.4) and revoked the 1998 Rules (Rule 12.3). Designated managers were re-designated as designated administrators (Rule 12.1). |
The GFSC's fund rules page lists the 2021 Rules with no amending instrument.
What it works with
The Rules sit under the Protection of Investors Law 2020 (summary: POI Law page). The sister open-ended class is Class B (summary: Class B page). It has no qualifying professional investor test, and adds rules on unit pricing, compensation for misleading particulars, holder meetings and winding up. Closed-ended funds can be authorised under the Authorised Closed-ended Investment Schemes Rules 2021 (summary: ACEIS page).
Registered funds ordinarily follow the RCIS Rules 2021 and the Prospectus Rules 2025. A private investment fund is excluded from the Prospectus Rules (Rule 1.1(5)(d)). Under the PIF Rules 2025, a QPIF admits qualifying private investors. A Family PIF admits family members and eligible employees, who must themselves meet that definition (Schedule 1, Parts A and B; summary: PIF page, PIF glossary). The domicile comparison sets Guernsey against its peers.
EU marketing follows AIFMD. The GFSC's AIFMD regime page covers national private placement, open only where the destination state allows it, on its terms. Fees are set by the Financial Services Commission (Fees and Administrative Penalties) Regulations, 2025, from 1 January 2026 (GFSC investment fees). Filing dates sit in the fund annual return deadlines table.
In practice: the investor test runs on beneficial ownership, not on the register. A unit held through a nominee is tested at the beneficial owner. Procedures must require each potential investor to confirm that it qualifies (Rule 2.1.1).
To verify
- Amending instruments. The GFSC fund rules page lists no amendment to the 2021 Rules. Confirm against the GFSC's statutory instrument list before relying on the 2021 text as current.
- Statutory instrument number. The PDF does not state the G.S.I. number of the 2021 Rules. Confirm it against the Guernsey statutory instrument register.
- Investor thresholds. The £2,000,000 and £500,000 tests in Rule 11.1 date from the 2021 text. Confirm against the current GFSC rules before a subscription relies on them.
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