**Environment**
The Investment Funds Act 2003 positions The Bahamas at the cutting edge of modern investment fund administration. The Act serves both to update the general legislative and supervisory environment and introduces an additional style of collective investment vehicle — the Bahamas SMART© Fund — officially known as the Specific Mandate Alternative Regulatory Test Fund.
The Bahamas provides a fertile environment for investment funds. While the Securities Commission exercises strong oversight of investment fund administrators, investment funds in The Bahamas enjoy speedy registration procedures, low establishment costs, and minimal corporate or trust formation expenses.
**The Bahamas. The Better Choice.**
The Bahamas is ideally positioned as a leading international business centre, with the existence of a highly skilled professional talent pool, accepted legislation conducive to business, a risk based regulatory environment, and systems for the prevention and detection of money laundering and financing of terrorism. The depth and quality of financial services institutions is complemented by the provision of a tax neutral platform for all business activity. It is also a country committed to its democratic traditions, fiscal prudence, and a strong public-private sector partnership.
The link below provides a broad range of information on the regulation and operation of investment funds in The Bahamas.
For an overview of the investment funds sector, please request a copy of BFSB’s Guide to Investment Funds, now in circulation.