Twenty five years ago this week saw the first formal adoption of the UCITS directive, since when it has gone through two further incarnations, with a third, UCITS IV, due next July.PARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Twenty five years ago this week saw the first formal adoption of the UCITS directive, since when it has gone through two further incarnations, with a third, UCITS IV, due next July. Leading the way in embracing UCITS has been Luxembourg, whose government became the first EU country to ratify the UCITS IV bill on 16^th December 2010 after the draft bill (N^o 6170) was first presented to its parliament on 6^th August 2010. How symbolic then, that Luxembourg was also the first EU country to approve UCITS back in 1985. Since that time, UCITS has grown in stature across the EU to become the ‘gold standard’ in investment funds, its increasing adoption across Latin America, the Middle East and Asia merely serving to emphasize its recognition as a global brand. The high degree of regulation, transparency and liquidity that forms the backbone to the UCITS structure has become increasingly important post ’08 amongst investors both retail and institutional.