A société d’investissement à capital fixe, known as a “SICAF”, is a public limited company whose purpose is to manage a portfolio of financial instruments, deposits and liquid assets, allowing direct or indirect diversification of investment risks, with the aim of enabling its shareholders to benefit from the results of this management.
Except in the cases provided for in the Articles of Association, shares may not be redeemed by the SICAF at the request of its shareholders.
It may carry out temporary acquisitions or sales of securities and borrow cash.
In order to achieve its management objective, it may grant the guarantees mentioned in article L. 211-38 or benefit from them, under the conditions defined in the same article, as well as benefit from joint sureties or first demand guarantees.
It may enter into the financial contracts referred to in article L. 211-1 under the conditions laid down by decree of the Conseil d’Etat.
The company must state its name and its status as a fixed-capital investment company on all deeds and documents intended for third parties.
The initial capital of a SICAF may not be less than an amount set by decree.
The shares of a SICAF may be admitted to trading on a regulated market for financial instruments referred to in Article L. 421-1 or a multilateral trading facility referred to in Article L. 424-1, under the conditions set out in sub-section 2. The net assets per share of the SICAF are then calculated and communicated in accordance with the conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d’Etat.