Qualified Domestic Institutional Investor - QDII

You’ve probably heard that the government of China doesn’t mess around. Beijing probably isn’t the best place to start a punk band with highly political lyrics, or start your blog dedicated to "telling it like it is." The Chinese government has a lot to say about what goes on in China (and some to say about what goes on outside of China).

This regulatory regime extends to the investment community. China looks to control much of the activity in its financial markets. Among the rules it uses to exert this control, China puts restrictions on who can invest in foreign countries.

Which brings us to the qualified domestic investor designation. A QDII has government approval to invest in securities outside the home country. The designation means the Chinese government has deemed the organization (banks and investment funds, mostly) acceptable to buy and sell foreign securities.