Practice group news

New constitution for small charities
4 November 2009

How to keep charity support flowing in a recession
5 October 2009

Revised charitable company guidance clarifies restrictions
28 September 2009

Legal 500 demonstrates strong support from clients
28 September 2009

Charity law to be consolidated?
11 September 2009

B P Collins guest speaking at charity seminar
27 August 2009

Proposed charity regulation changes welcomed

16 June 2009



The proposals, included in the April Budget statement, have been welcomed by the Charity Commission. The plans aim to bring to bring charity collective investments, usually Common Investment Funds (CIFs) and Common Deposit Funds (CDFs), fully under the regulation of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This would replace the current system whereby CIFs and CDFs are effectively regulated by both the Charity Commission and the FSA.

A CIF is a scheme whereby the funds of a number of charitable investors are pooled and invested by a professional fund manager in a range of investments. CDFs on the other hand, are schemes where the investors' cash is pooled and invested on the money markets to obtain a higher interest rate than the investors could obtain individually.

The proposals will be subject to a full consultation by the government and the FSA later this year. Any new collective investment scheme formats proposed following the consultation will retain the same tax advantages as the CIFs and CDFs.

Andrew Hind, Chief Executive of the Commission, said: "As the economic world around us changes it is right that regulatory bodies look at how best they can continue to meet the needs of today's investors, and in this case charities, who play such a vital role in society."

If you require legal advice, for either your private affairs or organisation, please contact Buckinghamshire based B P Collins Solicitors or give us a call on 01753 889995.

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