On 27 November 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a speech by Verena Ross, Chair at the EFAMA Investment Management Forum in Brussels. The speech is entitled: The role of asset management – channelling capital into financial markets preserving financial stability and sustainability aims. In her speech Ms Ross provides a stock … Continue Reading
On 23 November 2023, the UK Parliament published the Alternative Investment Fund Designation Bill, which has been introduced to Parliament. This is Private Member’s Bill, intended to amend the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations 2013 (which implemented the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive in the UK) to remove listed investment companies from Alternative Investment Fund … Continue Reading
We have now updated our two guides on the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), which has now been in force for some time. Both guides are now in their sixth iteration. The first guide considers whether the AIFMD marketing passport is working in practice and is a useful tool for managers as it illustrates … Continue Reading
On 31 October 2023, the FCA announced that it will be partnering with regulators across the world as part of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative with the financial industry that explores fund and asset tokenisation use cases and decentralised finance. The FCA joins MAS, Singapore’s central bank, the Financial … Continue Reading
On 12 October 2023, the FCA published a speech delivered by its Chair, Ashley Alder, at the Investment Association’s Annual Dinner on 11 October. In the speech, Mr Alder provides an update on the FCA’s priorities for updating and improving the UK asset management regime in light of the responses it received to discussion paper … Continue Reading
On 19 September 2023, the FCA published a new webpage on landing slots for funds in the temporary marketing permissions regime (TMPR). The webpage explains that, in the coming months, the FCA will be contacting fund operators with respect to landing slots for exiting the TMPR. It also notes that the process of exiting the … Continue Reading
On 16 August 2023, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published summary terms of reference for a thematic peer review on money market fund (MMF) reforms. The peer review will take stock of the measures adopted by FSB member jurisdictions to enhance MMF resilience in response to the FSB’s 2021 policy proposals. The FSB has also … Continue Reading
On 10 August 2023, the FCA published the findings from its review of processes Authorised Fund Managers (AFMs) use for assessments of value (AoVs) for the funds they operate. This is a follow-up to the feedback the FCA gave from its first review in July 2021. In 2017, the FCA published its Asset Management Market … Continue Reading
On 20 July 2023, the European Commission issued a press release welcoming the political agreement that the European Parliament and Council had reached on the legislative proposals that were adopted as part of the Capital Markets Union package which amend the UCITS Directive and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. The agreement reached is provisional … Continue Reading
On 20 July 2023, the European Commission published a report to the European Parliament and the Council on money market funds (MMFs) from a prudential and economic point of view. The report delivers on the legal mandate under Article 46(1) and 46(2) of the MMF Regulation for the Commission to submit a report to the … Continue Reading
On 7 July 2023, the FCA published the detailed findings and good practice from its multi-firm review of liquidity management frameworks in asset managers. The FCA also noted that it had written to the sector in a companion Dear CEO letter. Background In November 2019, the FCA issued a letter to the Boards of Authorised … Continue Reading
On 5 July 2023, the International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a consultation report on guidance for effective implementation of the recommendations for liquidity risk management for collective investment schemes. The report provides detailed guidance to support greater and more consistent use of anti-dilution liquidity management tools by responsible entities for open-ended funds (OEFs), … Continue Reading
On 29 June 2023, the FCA published Policy Statement 23/7: Broadening retail access to the long-term asset fund (PS23/7). PS23/7 sets out the FCA’s response to the feedback it received to its earlier consultation paper on broadening retail access to the long-term asset fund (LTAF) (CP22/14) and details the final rules and guidance that it … Continue Reading
On 3 July 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a report on marketing requirements and marketing communications under the Regulation on cross-border distribution of funds (the Regulation). This is the second report, produced by ESMA, which covers Member States’ national rules governing the marketing of investment funds under the Regulation. ESMA submitted … Continue Reading
On 21 June 2023, the FCA published a consultation and discussion paper from the Vote Reporting Group. The aim of the consultation is to build industry consensus on a voluntary vote reporting template for asset managers in the UK. The consultation proposes a voluntary, standardised and comprehensive ‘vote reporting template’ for asset managers to communicate … Continue Reading
On 16 June 2023, the European Commission (the Commission) published a letter from John Berrigan, Deputy Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, addressed to Verena Ross, ESMA Chair, formally requesting technical advice on the review of Commission Directive 2007/16/EC on UCITS eligible assets (commonly known as the Eligible Assets Directive). The … Continue Reading
On 14 June 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority published the following updated Questions and Answers (Q&As): Q&As on the application of the AIFMD – The Q&As have been updated to include new sections on: Q&As on the application of the UCITS Directive – The Q&As have been updated to include the following questions:… Continue Reading
On 6 June 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a follow-up peer review report which provides an update on the action that Member State competent authorities (NCAs) have taken to address the issues that were identified in the 2018 peer review on the guidelines on exchange traded funds and other UCITS issues. … Continue Reading
On 24 May 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a final report on the 2022 Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on valuation. Introduction In January 2022, ESMA launched a CSA with Member State national competent authorities (NCAs) on the supervision of the asset valuation rules under the UCITS Directive and Alternative Investment Fund … Continue Reading
On 17 May 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an Opinion to the European Commission with suggested clarifications of the legislative provisions under the UCITS Directive and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive relating to the notion of “undue costs”. The Opinion follows a Common Supervisory Action on the supervision of costs … Continue Reading
In the third in our series of Regulation Tomorrow podcasts focusing on the future of asset management regulation in the UK, Hannah Meakin, Taher Ahmed and Anita Edwards discuss the role of depositaries in the sector and the FCA’s proposals for reform, as set out in the recent FCA discussion paper, DP23/2. For more information … Continue Reading
On 12 May 2023, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published Good Practices Relating to the Implementation of the IOSCO Principles for Exchange Traded Funds. Exchange traded funds (ETFs) are an increasingly popular investment vehicle, which offer investors exposure to underlying markets for stocks, bonds and other assets; portfolio diversification; and access to a … Continue Reading
In the second in our series of Regulation Tomorrow podcasts focusing on the future of asset management regulation in the UK, Hannah Meakin, Taher Ahmed and Anita Edwards discuss potential reforms to regulatory hosting structures and appointed representatives, a topic discussed in the FCA’s recent discussion paper, DP23/2. For more information on DP23/2, see our … Continue Reading
On 27 April 2023, HM Treasury published a consultation paper on its proposals for a new unauthorised contractual scheme, the Reserved Investor Fund. In its response to the UK funds regime review call for input on 10 February 2022, the government committed to undertaking further work to explore options for the introduction of a new … Continue Reading
