The Supervisory Mandate of the National Bank
Investment management agreements in Georgia exist within a special regulatory environment: under the norms of the Law of Georgia on Investment Funds concerning the supervision of an investment fund and an asset management company, the National Bank of Georgia is charged with overseeing both. This means that the performance of a management agreement concluded with an investor is closely connected with the continuous monitoring of the state regulator. Under the same norm the National Bank is authorized to supervise the activity of an investment fund, to carry out the authorization or registration of a fund founded in Georgia, to recognize a foreign investment fund, and also to revoke the authorization, registration or recognition of a fund. Supervision also includes the inspection and regulation of the fund, the issuance of written instructions to it, and the imposition of additional requirements, restrictions and sanctions. Consequently, the relationships defined by a management agreement always remain under the control of the regulator, and any problem in the performance of the agreement can be escalated through supervisory channels in parallel with contractual remedies.
Licensing and Registration of the Asset Management Company
Under the same norm, the National Bank supervises the activity of an asset management company, carries out the licensing or registration of an asset management company founded in Georgia, recognizes a foreign asset management company, and also revokes the license, registration or recognition of an asset management company. The inspection and regulation of asset management companies, the issuance of written instructions and the imposition of additional requirements, restrictions and sanctions likewise form part of supervision. For the investor this means that the counterparty under a management agreement can only be a company holding the respective status granted by the regulator, and the loss of that status directly affects the services owed under the agreement. Before signing, it is therefore reasonable to verify not only the commercial terms of the agreement but also the current supervisory standing of the manager, because the regulatory status is the threshold condition for the lawful management of the assets of the fund.