Luxembourg’s fund body ALFI has signed a deal which should give UCITS fund mangers easier access to the Australian market.

As a rule, a foreign financial services providers need to hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence to provide services in the country.

However ALFI's experts claim to have negotiated an AFS licence relief in their talks with the Australia Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

The exemption will cover Luxembourg management companies (described in Chapter 15 of the fund law) and UCITS self-managed SICAVs.

"The move will enable Australia’s institutional investors, including superannuation funds, easier access to Luxembourg UCITS," ALFI said in a statement.

“This relief is a further step in strengthening the relations between our two financial centres”, added ALFI chair Denise Voss. 

ALFI, the official representative body for the Luxembourg investment fund industry, is planning a roadshow to Australia next March. 

Luxembourg and Ireland are the European domiciles of choice for cross-border fund distribution.

Both enjoy respected reputations as fund locations and offer a choice of of regulatory, legal and tax regimes.