Investment company with variable capital used in Luxembourg and other European fund markets; a legal form that may operate under UCITS or another fund regime.
SICAV is an abbreviation of the French societe d’investissement a capital variable, meaning an investment company with variable capital. It is a corporate legal form used for collective investment funds in Luxembourg and other European jurisdictions.
SICAV identifies how the fund is constituted and how its capital changes. It does not by itself identify the fund’s strategy, investor type, tax treatment, or regulatory regime. A SICAV may be authorized as a UCITS or operate under another applicable fund framework.
An open-ended SICAV accepts subscriptions and redemptions under its articles, prospectus, and applicable law. Net subscriptions increase the number of shares and the company’s capital; net redemptions reduce them.
Shares are normally valued using the relevant sub-fund’s net asset value and dealing rules. The price an investor receives may depend on the next valuation point, order cut-off, class, fees, swing pricing, dilution adjustment, or other disclosed mechanism.
The precise mechanics are jurisdiction- and product-specific. “Variable capital” should not be read as a promise that the fund will redeem on demand in every market condition.
A SICAV can operate as a single portfolio or as an umbrella containing several sub-funds. One umbrella might include a global equity sub-fund, a bond sub-fund, and a money-market sub-fund.
Each sub-fund can have its own:
Investors should identify the exact sub-fund and share class. The umbrella’s name alone is not enough to determine exposure or costs.
| Label | What it describes | Key question |
|---|---|---|
| SICAV | Corporate fund with variable capital. | What company and sub-fund are the shares issued by? |
| UCITS | EU authorization and operating regime for qualifying collective investments. | Has the fund been authorized as a UCITS? |
| Contractual common fund | Pool operated under contract rather than as a company. | Who owns or holds the assets and what rights do participants have? |
| Unit trust | Trust-based collective scheme. | What duties belong to the manager and trustee? |
| SICAF | Investment company with fixed capital. | Do investors exit through market trading or another closed-ended mechanism? |
A Luxembourg SICAV can be a UCITS, but SICAV form is also used for alternative and specialized funds. The authorization shown in the official register and prospectus controls the answer.
Assume a Luxembourg umbrella company has variable capital and three sub-funds. Its Global Equity sub-fund is authorized within a UCITS structure and offers an unhedged euro class and a U.S.-dollar-hedged class.
If global equities fall, both classes can lose money. Currency hedging can change returns and costs, but neither the SICAV form nor UCITS status guarantees performance.
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