Investing in Monaco

The main investment options available through authorised Monaco firms include equities, bonds, financial derivatives, Monegasque and foreign collective funds, hedge and alternative funds, real estate and real-estate funds, venture capital, private equity, non-financial asset funds and crypto-assets. Foreign products can be accessed through authorised firms, but sophisticated products may be limited to investors with suitable knowledge, experience and financial capacity. The Commission de Contrôle des Activités Financières, known as the CCAF, supervises investment services and funds in Monaco. Its remit includes portfolio management, investment advice, reception and transmission of orders, management of Monaco and foreign funds, and related conduct requirements. Strictly banking supervision is assigned to the French ACPR where applicable. Monaco had 25 credit institutions in 2025, including 24 authorised by the CCAF, 74 management companies and approximately EUR 178 billion in deposits and securities. A discretionary portfolio-management mandate gives the manager authority to select investments within a written agreement. The agreement should state the objectives, eligible instrument categories, remuneration, reporting, duration, renewal and termination rules. With advisory investing, the client retains the investment decision. The firm must assess knowledge, experience, objectives and financial situation and give a suitability warning where appropriate. Delegation, investment in an affiliated fund and the use of leverage require express prior consent when the applicable rules call for it. A Monaco credit institution providing custody keeps financial instruments booked in the holder’s name and safeguards the corresponding assets under Law 1.314. When the same provider manages a portfolio and receives or transmits orders for the client, separate custody arrangements are required. The custodian may therefore be distinct from the fund manager. Read the mandate, custody terms, risk information and product documents together rather than judging a provider only by its investment performance. Monaco funds generally require a management company and a Monaco custodian, with CCAF approval. The constitution of a venture-capital fund benefits from a declarative exception. The decision period for a complete application is three months for an open-to-all fund and eight business days for a reserved fund. Investors must receive the simplified prospectus free of charge before subscribing. Depending on the fund, relevant documents include the investment programme, net asset value information, audited annual and periodic reports and notices of material changes. The CCAF publishes a current list of open funds. Investment costs depend on the product, mandate and market. A fund may charge subscription or redemption commissions, an annual expense ratio, a performance fee and transaction fees; maximum charges appear in the simplified prospectus. The CCAF authorisation fee is zero, but that does not make portfolio management, custody or product costs free. A provider authorisation decision can take up to six months. Orders and solicitations are regulated. An unauthorised firm may not freely market foreign financial products to private persons domiciled in Monaco, including through unsolicited distance marketing, except where a defined exception applies. The CCAF’s 2023 annual-report position was that proprietary trading and execution of orders for third parties were not approvable locally; execution may instead take place through an external authorised intermediary. Crypto-asset services require prior approval under Law 1.528, and unsolicited crypto-asset offers by non-approved persons are prohibited. Investment losses can result from market, issuer, counterparty, interest-rate, foreign-exchange, inflation, concentration, liquidity, valuation, operational, cyber, custody, legal, regulatory, tax-residence and fraud risks. Real estate, private equity and alternative assets can be difficult to sell quickly. Derivatives, short selling and leverage can multiply losses. Crypto-assets add volatility, private-key and custody, platform and regulatory risks. Authorisation and supervision control conduct; they do not guarantee returns or repayment of capital. Monaco does not generally levy personal income tax or wealth, land or housing tax on Monegasques and residents, except for French nationals covered by the 1963 Franco-Monegasque Convention and subject to the applicable residence conditions. This does not establish a blanket exemption from capital-gains tax. Residence, source and reporting rules in other jurisdictions can still apply. Succession and donation duties on assets situated in Monaco range from 0% to 16% depending on the relationship between the parties. Companies with more than 25% of turnover outside Monaco can fall within corporate tax, whose normal rate is 25%. Automatic exchange of financial-account information under CRS applies from 1 January 2026 and covers items including interest, dividends, capital gains, rent and passive income linked to crypto-assets. A provider’s exact CCAF authorisation should match the service being offered. Check the provider, custody arrangement, mandate or prospectus, total charges, liquidity, reporting, tax residence and the risks of every instrument. The CCAF can investigate complaints within its remit, but it does not provide private-dispute mediation or guarantee an investment outcome.