The Kuwait Capital Markets Authority issued a decision setting new investment controls for multi-asset funds and making wide-ranging amendments to the investment controls for other fund types, alongside changes to the regime for marketing collective investment schemes established outside Kuwait. The package comprises more than 48 substantive amendments, developed after a review of existing controls and international practices and a survey that generated 189 comments from 14 external parties. Changes include expanding permissible instruments to cover, among other items, investment grade debt instruments, debt with preliminary or projected ratings or issuer-based ratings, fixed income and money market ETFs, Tier 2 capital bonds or sukuk, and derivatives and options contracts outside Kuwait. Multiple fund regimes also see higher limits for investment concentration and borrowing, including an increase in maximum borrowing from 10% to 15% of net asset value (NAV) across several fund types, higher fund-of-funds concentration limits in places from 15% to 25% of NAV, and real estate fund borrowing rising from 40% to 50% of NAV. Additional amendments include, for income-generating real estate funds, extending the post-authorisation period to complete listing procedures on the ASE to 90 days from 60 days, reducing the required income-generating period for invested properties to six months from one year, lowering the local property exemption threshold to KD 10 million from KD 30 million, and permitting up to 25% of NAV to be invested in real estate outside Kuwait. For the new multi-asset fund category, the Articles of Association must set minimum and maximum allocations by asset class, with a maximum of 60% of NAV in any single class, a 15% borrowing rate and a 10% limit for investment in derivatives and options contracts inside and outside Kuwait. The framework also introduces concentration and eligibility limits across securities, debt, deposits, real estate and fund investments. Separately, the foreign scheme marketing amendments add licensed investment advisers as eligible applicants, introduce updated application and prospectus forms, add an institutional marketing appendix limited to professional clients, and establish an institutional marketing fee; the CMA invited relevant parties to review the final rules adopted in the Executive Regulations and implement their provisions.
Kuwait Capital Markets Authority 2026-02-15
Kuwait Capital Markets Authority introduces multi-asset fund investment controls and amends rules for other funds and foreign scheme marketing
The Kuwait Capital Markets Authority has introduced new investment controls for multi-asset funds and amended existing controls for other fund types, including changes to the marketing regime for collective investment schemes established outside Kuwait. Key amendments involve expanded permissible instruments, increased borrowing limits, and revised concentration limits, alongside updates to foreign scheme marketing rules and procedures.