Bearing in mind the current volatile character of the global financial markets, a growing number of investors has resorted to real estate investments, often through the medium of investment funds. The trend can be observed in Serbia as well and can be linked to the growth in real estate prices.
The Republic of Serbia Securities Commission has noticed that the website located at the following address sref.rs promotes investing in real estate investment funds. The website requests information on the investment and the intended time period including contact information of the investor. The Commission would like to alert the public to the fact that to this moment the Securities Commission has not issued a single authorization for an alternative investment fund investing in real estate.
For an investment fund to operate in accordance with the law, it is required that it holds a valid authorization issued by the Securities Commission. The area of investment funds in the Republic of Serbia is regulated by the Law on open-ended investment funds subject to public offering and the Law on alternative investment funds. These laws have been in application since 20 April 2020, aligning the Serbian legislation to a large extent to the EU acquis.
For an investment fund to operate in accordance with the law, it is required that it holds a valid authorization issued by the Securities Commission. The area of investment funds in the Republic of Serbia is regulated by the Law on open-ended investment funds subject to public offering and the Law on alternative investment funds. These laws have been in application since 20 April 2020, aligning the Serbian legislation to a large extent to the EU acquis.
In all matters involving the unauthorized provision of activities, the Securities Commission will immediately undertake measures within its competence in order to provide for an organized, efficient, fair and smooth functioning of the capital market. However, this does not mean that investors should not act with due care that a prudent person would use to avoid possible frauds.
The Commission has issued this warning to investors, alerting investors to conduct an in-depth research before any intended investment. Please consult the registers of licensed i.e. authorized entities the Commission maintains at its website and check whether the company in questions has the authorizations to conduct the activities and services it claims to provide.