While historically, unit trusts were favoured legal vehicles for investment, in the 1990s it was felt that the UK government should allow a corporate form that could repurchase its own shares without the standard restrictions in the Companies Act. The Open-Ended Investment Companies (Investment Companies with Variable Capital) Regulations 1996 first introduced the OEIC, on 11 November 1996 and in force on 6 January 1997. They were enacted under the European Communities Act 1972 section 2(1) and were therefore known as the "ECA Regulations". The Securities and Investment Board (predecessor to the FCA) regulations, the Financial Services (Open-Ended Investment Companies) Regulations 1997 were approved by the SIB Board on 16 January 1997 and came into effect as from that date. The first commercial OEIC was launched by Threadneedle Asset Management in 1997.