Investment Firms Services

A CIF is a regulated investment firm authorised and supervised by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC),  (www.cysec.gov.cy ). The term "investment firm" includes, amongst others, portfolio/asset managers, broker companies, investment advisers, forex trading companies.

As per the legislation the following are considered as core investment services:

• Reception and transmission of orders in relation to one or more financial instruments.
• Execution of orders on behalf of clients.
• Dealing on own account.
• Portfolio management.
• Investment advice.
• Underwriting of financial instruments and/or placing of financial instruments on a firm commitment basis.
• Placing of financial instruments without a firm commitment basis.
• Operation of Multilateral Trading Facility.

Additionally the following are considered as non-core services

• Safekeeping and administration of financial instruments for the account of clients, including custodianship and related services such as cash/collateral management.
• Granting credits or loans to an investor to allow him to carry out a transaction in one or more financial instruments, where the firm granting the credit or loan is involved in the transaction.
• Advice to undertakings on capital structure, industrial strategy and related matters and advice and services relating to mergers and the purchase of undertakings.
• Foreign exchange services where these are connected to the provision of
• Investment research and financial analysis or other forms of general
• Services related to underwriting.

CySEC is the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the government regulatory agency that issues all Forex licensing in Cyprus. CySEC is considered one of the leading Forex governmental licensing agencies in the world. Most of the top Forex companies hold a CySEC license for their operations both within and outside the EU.

• Diversified, Skilful and Well-Educated Workforce
• EU ‘passporting’ – A licensed CIF is able to freely provide investment services either via cross border marketing or through representative and branch offices across 30 EU and EEA member states via the EU Passporting System for Investment Firms
• Diversified, Skilful and Well-Educated Workforce
• One of the lowest corporate income tax rates (12.5%) in the EU and eurozone
• No Inheritance Tax, which offers many options for international tax planning
• Typically lower Administration and Operational Costs than any other EU Country
• Low Initial Capital Requirement – i.e. EUR 125,000
• A CySEC license is recognized by EU countries (Cyprus is member of the EU)

For CySEC to grant CIF authorisation, a formal application procedure needs to be followed, and certain requirements must be met(see below).The Commission must, within six months from the submission of a duly completed application for the granting of a CIF authorisation, reach a decision and inform the applicant for the granting of authorisation or the rejection of the application.During this six-month period the Commission may request additional information or clarifications regarding the application submitted.

The main criteria that need to be satisfied by the Commission (CySEC) in order to grand an authorization are:

• Existence of the minimum capital required under the Law Investment Firms
• A minimum of two experienced and reliable executives so that the four eyes principle is satisfied. Both of these two executives should be employed by the company on a full-time basis and live in Cyprus. They both should be accessible and available to appear before the Commission with reasonable notice.
• “Experienced and reliable persons” to be appointed as Directors of the CIF are not defined in the Law.
• Possession of the relevant professional competence certificates from CySEC.
• Adequate technical and financial resources.
• Adequate IT systems and internal control mechanisms.

The main documents to accompany the application are:

• A business plan with description of the operations and forecasts for the first three years.
• Draft Constitution and Articles of Association.
• A draft organizational structure of the company including the names of two experienced persons so that the four eyes principle is fulfilled.
• An operations manual which contains internal procedures for the services to be provided, anti-money laundering procedures, description of the IT systems and infrastructure of the company etc.
• Excerpt of the criminal record, certificates of non-bankruptcy, CVs for all the members of the Board of Directors, executives and shareholders with holdings of 10% or more.
• Completed questionnaires for the above.
• A confirmation that the applicant possess or will possess the capital required as its initial capital and that it will undertake to block it in a bank account held by a credit institution or institutions of a member state, when and if the Commission so requests.

It can take a few months to obtain and prepare all the necessary documentation, and once all the documents have been submitted to CySEC per the law, the deadline for the CySEC decision concerning the decision prepared accordingly should not exceed six months since the date of its submission, in addition CySEC offers a “Fast Track” examination scheme which is a way to accelerate the application process. As for the cost, the CySEC license application fee starting from 5,000.00 EUR and complimented by the fee for each of the investment services chosen. These costs do not include the advisory costs for the preparatory work of the application.

With a 100% success ratio of CIF applications and registration, we aim to offer the utmost level of consulting service targeting always at the positive result. Our significant experience since 2002 in the licensing and set up process of regulated investment firms along with the practical experience of taking part in the management of such firms gives us a competitive advantage of not only following all legal and other obligations but also offering to our esteemed clients the insight in terms of day to day operations and budget expectations that cannot be found in any application or operations manual or legal document.

Osys global can assist you obtain a Cyprus Investment firm (CIF) license and registration through the provision of the following services:

• The preparation and monitoring of the application for obtaining a CIF authorization
• Preparation of the Internal Operations Manual
• Internal audit processes
• Anti Money laundering manual
• Business Plan (3-year budget forecast with 3 different scenarios)
• The preparation of an organizational structure that will satisfy the CYSEC including the outsourcing of non-core functions.

With CySEC being the sole decision maker, we cannot guarantee you the granting of your application. However, with a 100% success ratio of CIF applications and registration, we aim to offer the utmost level of consulting service targeting always at the positive result.

Forex trading companies are regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), under the CIFs and Investments Firms Law. To set up a Forex company a license is required by CYSEC and the process to obtain such a license involves several steps and conditions. For more info click here.

Brokerage companies are regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), under the CIFs and Investments Firms Law. To set up a brokerage company a license is required by CYSEC and the process to obtain such a license involves several steps and conditions. (for more info click here)

Cyprus is a popular jurisdiction for Forex companies due to the country's attractive tax regime, low set up and operational expenses along with the “passport effect” to provide services throughout EU. It's a well-known financial and banking centre for international investors, who want to take advantage of low taxes, political and economic stability. All the above make it an ideal location in the EU to setup a Forex firm.

Our significant experience since 2002 in the licensing and set up process of regulated investment firms along with the practical experience of taking part in the management of such firms gives us a competitive advantage of not only following all legal and other obligations but also offering to our esteemed clients the insight in terms of day to day operations and budget expectations that cannot be found in any application or operations manual or legal document.

In particular we can assist you in:

• The preparation and monitoring of the application for obtaining a CIF authorization
• Preparation of the Internal Operations Manual
• Internal audit processes
• Anti Money laundering manual
• Business Plan (3-year budget forecast with 3 different scenarios)
• The preparation of an organizational structure that will satisfy the CYSEC including the outsourcing of non-core functions.
• Bank account opening
• Office set up
• Staff placement