On 12 July 2019, the following legislative acts were published in the Official Journal of the EU (OJ):
- Directive (EU) 2019/1160 amending the UCITS Directive and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive with regard to the cross-border distribution of collective investment undertakings; and
- Regulation (EU) 2019/1156 on facilitating cross-border distribution of collective investment undertakings and amending the European Venture Capital Funds Regulation, the European Social Entrepreneurship Funds Regulation, and the Regulation on key information documents for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products.
The Regulation and Directive aim to:
- eliminate regulatory barriers to the cross-border distribution of funds;
- improve transparency by aligning national marketing requirements and regulatory fees;
- introduce consistency in the way regulatory fees are determined;
- harmonise the process and requirements for the verification of marketing material by Member State national competent authorities;
- allow managers to “test the appetite” of potential investors for new investment strategies; and
- enable ESMA to better monitor investment funds.
The Directive and Regulation will enter into force on 1 August 2019. The Regulation will apply from 1 August 2019, with the exception of Articles 4(1) to (5), Articles 5(1) and (2), Article 15 and Article 16, which will apply from 2 August 2021. Member States are required to apply measures implementing the Directive from 2 August 2021.
