Supervision
The Commodity Discovery Fund meets all
legal and regulatory requirements and collaborates with a large number of
professional service providers. From a legal point of
view, the fund is a fund for joint account (Fonds voor Gemene Rekening), which was incorporated in the Netherlands (2008) and
is also established there under the UCITS regime.
Supervision is structured as follows:
- CDFund is registered/supervised by The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets
- CDFund is supervised by De
Nederlandsche Bank
- CDFund is affiliated with the Dutch Institute for Financial Disputes Kifid
UCITS
UCITS was introduced to provide greater
transparency and protection for investors. The UCITS
guideline is in line with the previously determined AIFMD, a similar guideline,
but applicable to real estate and hedge funds. The
introduction has ensured that all funds that can be traded in the EU are
protected throughout the EU in the same way. The protection stems from the
introduction of a so-called depositary. The depositary
checks all the cash flows of a fund in order to prevent fraudulent behaviour.
UCITS is translated as ICBE in the Netherlands. Investors must also be elaborately informed about the fund by means of
what is known as a key investor information document. All
other information can be found in a very extensive Offering Memorandum.
Manager
The fund's manager is Commodity Discovery
Management B.V, of which Willem Middelkoop, as initiator and co-founder, owns
50% of the shares. After the buyout of co-founders Jan Dobber (2014) and Edwin
Bergshoeff (2016), the other 50% of these shares are now owned by seven individual participants.
Directors
The board, which has been assessed by both The Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) and De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), is formed by Terence van der Hout and Willem Middelkoop. They have been working together since 2005 to identify the best commodity
discoveries worldwide and to further develop the 'Discovery Investing' strategy.
AFM
The fund's manager, Commodity Discovery
Management B.V., received its AFM license on March 29, 2012. The license was converted on 21 July 2014, and since then, Commodity
Discovery Management B.V. is registered as UCITS manager in
the AFM register, which means that it is subject to an even stricter supervisory regime.
The AFM assesses whether all relevant laws and regulations have
been complied with and whether the correct information is provided via, for
example, the Offering Memorandum. Click here for a link
to the AFM website.
DNB
De Nederlandsche Bank is an independent central bank and, as a supervisor, has examined the reliability of the directors and checks whether the Commodity Discovery Fund is financially sound.
Kifid
Kifid, the Dutch Institute for Financial Disputes, is the expert financial grievances institute and accessible for
consumers, small business entrepreneurs and the self-employed. Kifid helps to solve issues between consumers and their bank, insurer,
intermediary or other financial services provider. This
is done through mediation or by a (usually) legally binding ruling from a
Disputes Committee. In this way, Kifid helps consumers
and entrepreneurs to find a solution, as an alternative to the courts.
Participant administration
The administrative interests of the participants
in the fund are managed by Bolder Fund Services (Netherlands) B.V. (formerly Circle Partners), an international independent
service provider. Bolder Fund Services (Netherlands) B.V. manages the portfolio administration
and the participant administration, and calculates the net asset value of the
portfolio on a monthly basis. A transparent statement,
and if desired, a personalized internet access, will keep you informed of the value
of your participations.
Financial Service Provider
CACEIS, Netherlands is an independent business partner
active worldwide and manages the processing of orders for the fund.
External Compliance Officer
Commodity Discovery Management B.V. works with Compliance Advies Financiële ondernemingen in the field of
legal compliance and regulation, AFM license and advice regarding the Commodity
Discovery Fund.
Accountants
Crowe Foederer audits the annual financial statement of Commodity Discovery Management B.V.. Since 2023 RSM Netherlands Accountants N.V. audits the annual financial statement of Commodity Discovery Fund.
Fund partners