Sixty participants recently completed a comprehensive course on the legal, regulatory and practical issues related to the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS). The course, jointly organised by the Institute of Financial Services (IFS-Malta), Simon Tortell and Associates and the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) to promote a wider learning of financial services in this important growth area and encourage continuous professional development amongst practitioners, was held over five sessions during the month of December.

The objective of the course was to enable participants to gain a good insight about UCITS legislation, in particular the legal and regulatory framework, eligible assets, passporting in and out of Malta and a comparison with the more loosely regulated hedge fund structure. Practical implications brought about by recent amendments to UCITS legislation were also addressed.

The speakers, who were all specialists in their respective field and had years of experience, came from Simon Tortell and Associates and the financial sector's main regulator, the MFSA.

Certificates were given to all participants who successfully completed the course.