The Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market (ARDFM) of Kazakhstan has drafted several laws aimed at regulating investment funds. These drafts are available for public review at Legalacts.egov.kz.
Currently, all joint-stock, mutual, venture, Islamic and real estate funds in Kazakhstan are regulated under the law on Investment and Venture Funds. This law provides baseline requirements for these fund types but does not include additional classifications.
For the first time, the new regulations identify a category of alternative investment funds. This category encompasses real estate funds, venture funds, private equity funds and hedge funds.
Real estate funds may invest in buildings, structures, land plots, unfinished projects, investment real estate (as defined by international financial reporting standards), building materials and shares in apartment buildings. Venture funds must invest at least 70% of their managed assets in stocks. Private equity funds will be permitted to invest in securities that are not traded on exchanges.
Alternative investment funds will be required to transfer assets to third-party management if their total assets exceed 50,000 monthly calculation indexes (MCI), which equates to approximately $394,088 in 2025. To protect unqualified investors, ARDFM proposes restricting their ability to invest in alternative investment funds except for real estate funds.
The proposal also introduces collective investment funds that will operate alongside alternative investment funds. Collective investment funds include Islamic funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and sustainable development funds adhering to ESG principles. These funds can be structured either as mutual funds (PIFs) or joint-stock companies. Meanwhile, alternative investment funds may take the form of simple partnerships or limited liability partnerships.
The new regulations do not yet specify standards or permissible investment areas for each type of collective investment fund. However, the fund type must be indicated in its name. Islamic investment funds are explicitly referenced in the existing law, while ETFs are already operational in Kazakhstan, with their shares traded on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) and the Astana International Exchange (AIX). The draft laws will remain open for public discussion until April 23.
