In 1997 legislation was enacted to provide for Seychelles-based mutual funds. A full text of the Seychelles Mutual Fund Act 1997 is available in the Downloads chapter.

The main features of Seychelles Mutual Funds are as follows:

- Both open and close ended funds are permitted;

- It is possible to choose among full range of legal tools, i.e. Limited Companies, Partnerships, Trusts, etc.

- Public Funds may be established provided that the share capital in case of a unit trust, is more than US$ 2,000,000. Public funds may be listed on a stock exchange.

- Private Funds may be formed provided that they have a paid up capital of note less than US$ 500,000 and not more than 50 investors.

- Application processing fee is US$ 500 and annual fee is also US$ 500.

- Confidentiality regarding the affairs of the fund is guaranteed by law and funds details can only be revealed by order of the court.

The following documents must be filed together with the application for Mutual Fund License:

- Offering document containing information that will allow the prospective investor to make informed decisions,

- Address of registered office or principal place of business in Seychelles,

Also, where the fund is a unit trust, it must have a resident trustee licensed in the Seychelles. The fund should be administered by a licensed administrator. Audited annual accounts must be submitted to authorities.