The Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988
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The CIF Law is the statute behind Jersey's collective investment funds. It decides whether a pooled vehicle is a "collective investment fund" at all. It then sets two gates: a permit for each functionary of a recognized fund, and a certificate for an unclassified fund. The certified-fund products and the JFSC fund codes rest on it. The Jersey Private Fund does not: a JPF with consent dated on or after 6 August 2025 is outside the Law's fund definition altogether.
Scope and the core mechanism
The Law starts with a definition. Under Article 3(1), a scheme is a collective investment fund if two things are true. Its object is to invest capital raised by an offer of units to the public. And at least one of three features applies under Article 3(2). Units are bought back or redeemed out of fund assets at the holder's request, continuously or at short intervals. Units are, have been or will be issued continuously or at short intervals. Or the fund operates on the principle of risk spreading.
The public-offer limb does much of the work. Article 3(3) treats an offer as public unless it goes only to a restricted circle, the statutory term for a private offer. A restricted circle needs four conditions together. The offer must reach an identifiable category of people directly, and only they can accept. They must have enough information to judge it, and no more than 50 people in Jersey or elsewhere may receive it. Finally, the units cannot be listed within a year of the offer. Article 3(7) lets schemes be prescribed out of the definition by name or description.
Once a scheme is a fund, the Law splits it in two. A recognized fund holds a recognized fund certificate under the Recognized Funds Orders; every other fund is an unclassified fund (Article 1). For recognized funds, a functionary acting in or from Jersey needs a permit (Article 5(1)). There is an exception where the function is performed wholly outside Jersey, but Article 5(2) still catches listed Jersey companies, partnerships and LLCs acting abroad. Article 5(4) allows prescribed exemptions.
The Schedule lists five groups of functionary. Group 1 is the company issuing units, and Group 2 covers managers, administrators, registrars and investment advisers. Group 3 covers distributors and the various dealing and paying agents. Group 4 is the trustee, custodian or depositary, and Group 5 any partner other than a limited partner. For unclassified funds, Article 8(1) requires a certificate before three persons carry on the fund's business. They are a company issuing units with a Jersey link, the trustee of a Jersey-law or Jersey-managed unit trust, and the general partner of a Jersey partnership managed from Jersey. Article 8(6) allows prescribed exemptions.
Key provisions
| Provision | What it says | The practical point |
|---|---|---|
| Fund definition (Art 3) | Public offer plus one of three features. Redemption, continuous issue or risk spreading each qualifies (Art 3(1) and (2)). | A closed-ended vehicle can still be a fund if it spreads risk. "Closed-ended" alone does not take a scheme outside the Law. |
| Restricted circle (Art 3(3)) | An offer is private only if all four tests are met. The headcount limit is 50 offerees, counted in Jersey or elsewhere, and units must not list within a year (Art 3(3)). | The count is of people the offer is communicated to, not of investors who sign. A wide marketing round can tip a private vehicle into a public one. |
| Functionary permit (Arts 5 to 7) | Functionaries of a recognized fund need a permit, subject to the outside-Jersey and prescribed exceptions. Breach carries up to 7 years' imprisonment, a fine, or both (Art 5(3)). | Article 5(2) follows Jersey-formed bodies abroad. Moving the desk offshore does not move a Jersey vehicle out of scope. |
| Fund certificate (Arts 8 to 8B) | The company, trustee or general partner of an unclassified fund needs a certificate to carry on its business. A Jersey LLP or LLC may not carry on the business of a collective investment fund (Art 8(1A) and (1B)). | The bar applies only to collective investment funds. The JPF Guide permits LLP and LLC structures for a JPF, which sits outside the definition. |
| Fit and proper test (Art 8B(7)) | The JFSC can refuse a certificate on integrity, competence, financial standing, reputation or other grounds. Past failures to give information or meet conditions also count (Art 8B(7)). | The test looks through to principal persons and to the fund's other service providers. A weak link anywhere in the structure can sink the application. |
| Codes of practice (Art 15) | The JFSC may issue codes for functionaries and certified funds. Breach is not itself an offence, but it can trigger regulatory powers and is admissible in court (Art 15(3) and (4)). | The Certified Funds Code calls its requirements enforceable. Its stated consequences of breach run from Article 13 directions to revocation of the certificate in serious cases. |
Amendment history
| Date | Instrument | What changed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 June 1988 | Collective Investment Funds (Jersey) Law 1988 (L.6/1988) | The original Law. Article 4 commenced on 1 June 1989. |
| 4 April 2008 | Collective Investment Funds (Amendment No. 4) (Jersey) Law 2008 (L.14/2008) | Created the certificate regime. It substituted Article 8 and inserted Articles 8A, 8B and 38A, which turned existing permits of unclassified fund companies into certificates. |
| 2 April 2013 | Alternative Investment Funds (Jersey) Regulations 2012 (R&O.142/2012) | Amended Article 7(6). Offences under the Regulations now count in the fit and proper grounds (Art 7(6)(d)). |
| 1 Aug 2018 | Limited Liability Partnerships (Jersey) Law 2017 (L.2/2017) | Inserted Article 8(1A). A Jersey LLP may not carry on the business of a collective investment fund. |
| 1 Sep 2022 | Limited Liability Companies (Consequential Amendments) (Jersey) Regulations 2022 (R&O.38/2022) | Brought Jersey LLCs into the Law. Article 8(1B) bars an LLC from carrying on the business of a collective investment fund. |
| 27 Feb 2024 | Changes to Ministerial Offices (Jersey) Amendment Order 2024 (R&O.10/2024) | The latest amendment. It starts the consolidated version in force. |
| 6 Aug 2025 | Collective Investment Funds (Jersey Private Funds) Order 2025 (R&O.44/2025) | Made under Articles 3(7) and 20. A JPF with consent given on or after 6 August 2025 is not a collective investment fund (Order, Art 3). |
What it works with
The CIF Law has three close partners. First, the Code of Practice for Certified Funds, issued under Article 15, sets nine principles for certified funds. Some parts apply only to OCIFs, Jersey Expert Funds, Jersey Listed Funds or Jersey Eligible Investor Funds. Responsibility sits with the fund acting through its certificate holder, such as the general partner or the trustee.
Second, the Financial Services (Jersey) Law 1998 covers the managers, administrators and custodians of unclassified funds. Article 2(10) calls this "fund services business", subject to the Law's territorial scope and exemptions (see the FS Law page). Third, the Jersey Private Funds Order 2025 takes qualifying JPFs out of the fund definition. Its test is a restricted group of investors: a directly addressed, identifiable category that alone may accept. Unlike Article 3(3), it carries no 50-person ceiling (Order, Art 2(2)).
The JPF Guide (effective 6 August 2025) adds a transition rule. A JPF authorised before that date keeps its offer and investor limits, and stays subject to the restricted-circle test, until its consent is reissued. See the Jersey Private Fund page. For the Guernsey equivalent, compare the Protection of Investors Law 2020, its registered scheme rules and the PIF Rules 2025. The domicile comparison and the sub-threshold AIFM table place Jersey next to Luxembourg, Ireland and Guernsey.
In practice: the offer test can override the vehicle's design. A scheme with the Article 3(2) features is a fund once its offer reaches more than 50 people, unless an exclusion applies. For a pre-August 2025 JPF that has not had its consent reissued, the 50-person restricted-circle test still governs. A wide placement round can turn it into a fund that needs a certificate. Carrying on the business without one is an offence under Article 8(2), though Article 8(3) keeps the investors' transactions valid.
To verify
- Current Recognized Funds Orders. The Article 1 definition names the 1988 General Provisions Order and the 2003 Rules Order. Confirm which Orders now govern recognized funds.
- Current version of the Code of Practice for Certified Funds. The copy linked above states it was last revised on 15 July 2021. Confirm it is still the current version on the JFSC site.
- Unregulated funds. The Financial Services Law cross-refers to the Collective Investment Funds (Unregulated Funds) (Jersey) Order 2008. Confirm whether that route remains open to new funds.
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