On 11 March 2020, we blogged that HM Treasury had published a consultation paper setting out the Government’s proposal for a new process for allowing investment funds domiciled overseas to be sold to UK investors. The proposed ‘overseas funds regime’ will introduce two new regimes based on the principle of equivalence: one for retail investment funds and one for money market funds. The deadline for comments on the consultation paper was 11 May 2020.

On 11 May 2020, the Financial Markets Law Committee (FMLC) published its response to the HM Treasury consultation paper. Among other things the FMLC notes that the Collective Investment Schemes (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 introduce a temporary marketing permissions regime (TMPR) for EU UCITS that have exercised their rights to market in the UK before the end of the transition period. The overseas fund regime is proposed to be available to third country (including EU) funds at the end of the transition period. The FMLC states that currently it is unclear whether the TMPR and the overseas funds regime will overlap.