Open mutual funds: how the OPIF works and what exactly the shareholder acquires
An open mutual investment fund (OPIF) is a form of collective trust management. The money of many people is combined into a single property complex, and it is managed by a management company operating under a license from the Bank of Russia. The legal basis for this construction is Federal Law No. 156—FZ dated 11/29/2001 "On Investment Funds". Before considering investing in open-ended mutual funds as one of the possible financial instruments, it is useful to understand its mechanics: what is a share, who considers its value and how, what the costs are and what risks the owner of the share assumes.
There is a caveat, without which further conversation is meaningless. A mutual fund is not an instrument with a known outcome in advance. The estimated value of an investment unit can either increase or decrease; the profitability of the fund is not guaranteed by either the management company or the state; the funds invested in the mutual fund are not insured. This is not a small—print formality, but a description of the nature of the instrument: the shareholder participates in the management of the securities portfolio, both positively and negatively.
What does an investment unit certify?
An investment share is a nominal non—documentary security. It certifies the share of its owner in the right of common ownership of the property constituting the fund, the right to require proper trust management from the management company and the right to receive monetary compensation upon repayment of the share. The crucial point is that the share does not certify the right to a percentage, coupon, or a predetermined amount. The number of shares is fixed for the shareholder, and the estimated cost of one share is changing.
The foundation itself is not a legal entity. This is a separate property complex: the fund's property is accounted for separately from the management company's own property, on a separate balance sheet and in a separate bank account. As a practical consequence, the fund's property is not responsible for the management company's own obligations.
Who participates in the maintenance of the fund
Management company
The management company makes investment decisions within the framework of the fund's investment declaration, a document that describes which assets and shares may be part of the fund. The management company has no right to go beyond the declaration.
Specialized depository
A specialized depository stores the fund's property and takes into account the rights to it, as well as controls the disposal of this property. A transaction that contradicts the law or the rules of trust management does not receive his consent. This is an external controller, independent