The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has updated its Questions and Answers (Q&A) paper on the application of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). This is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of the AIFMD.

The following questions along with their answers have been raised:

• can alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) choose to exclude portfolio managers from the scope of identified staff for the purposes of the Remuneration Guidelines purely because they are bound by investment limits set out by law and/or internal risk limits set out in the investment restrictions of the alternative investment fund (AIF)?
• pursuant to questions 19 (consolidated reporting template for AIF-specific information) and 20 (consolidated reporting template for AIFM specific information), AIFMs must specify whether the AIFs and the AIFMs are EEA AIFs and EEA AIFMs. Which countries are covered by the reference to EEA?
• according to Article 24(2) of the AIFMD, AIFMs must report specific information for all EU AIFs they manage or AIFs they market in the EU. Which countries are covered by the reference to the EU?
• the technical guidance indicates for each information item whether the information is mandatory (M), optional (O) or conditional (C). What do these categories mean?
• may an AIFM manage an AIF in a host Member State under Article 33 of the AIFMD without having first identified any existing AIF in that host Member State?
• when an AIFM wishes to manage an AIF in a host Member State for the first time, but has not yet set up any AIF in that host Member State, how should it comply with the requirement of Article 33(2)(b) of the AIFMD to identify the AIFs it intends to manage?
• can competent authorities in a Member State other than the home Member State of an AIFM accept passport notifications for the activities of the AIFM authorised under Article 6(4) of the AIFMD?

View Questions and answers: application of the AIFMD, 27 June 2014