UCITS (Undertaking for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities)
is an indicator that shows that the mutual fund or ETF is standardized and regulated by the common regulatory framework of the European Union (the 2001 European Commission UCITS Directive), established to overcome tax and other regulatory restrictions on the purchase of funds’ shares by investors from other EU countries. UCITS is intended to protect the investors’ rights for availability and safety of collective investments throughout the European Union, while providers have been given the opportunity for cross-border investments and attracting investors, as well as division of fund property between countries. Thus, UCITS funds (or, otherwise, UCITS-compliant funds) are considered to be at low degree of risk in the global collective investment market. UCITS also allows residents of countries outside the European Union to invest in European investment funds, if permitted by the legislation of investors’ domestic countries.