On 16 September 2020, the European Commission issued an inception impact assessment concerning proposed amendments to the Regulation on European long-term investment funds (ELTIFs). The impact assessment notes that the current challenge with the ELTIF regime is that, to date, the initial take-up of ELTIFs by the market has been slow, with only a limited … Continue Reading
On 26 August 2020, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) announced that it started a follow-up investigation into the monitoring of transactions and the reporting of unusual transactions by investment firms and investment funds. An earlier investigation from 2019 showed deficiencies in these areas. In 2019, the AFM investigated … Continue Reading
On 15 July 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a final report containing guidelines on disclosure requirements under the Prospectus Regulation. The guidelines provide guidance to financial market participants regarding the disclosure of financial and non-financial information in a prospectus. The purpose of the guidelines is to ensure that market participants have … Continue Reading
On 9 July 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a public statement on external support under Article 35 of the Money Market Funds Regulation (MMF Regulation). The statement has been issued by ESMA in light of financial markets authorities recent actions to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the EU’s financial markets, … Continue Reading
On 6 July 2020, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) published a sector letter containing guidelines on sustainability in the context of new rules and regulations. Many new laws and regulations are currently being introduced in the field of sustainability. For example, as of 10 March 2021, the EU … Continue Reading
On 17 June 2020, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) published its recommendations for the review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) in the form of a position paper: “Views on the review of the Alternative Investment Fund Directive (AIFMD)”. This follows on the European Commission’s AIFMD … Continue Reading
On 4 June 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued updated reporting instructions for money market funds (MMF) reporting. Article 37 of the Money Market Fund Regulation (MMFR) and the related technical standards oblige the managers of MMFs to submit a detailed list of information to Member State national competent authorities (NCAs) who … Continue Reading
In order to sell their expertise to German institutional and retail investors, non-German asset managers must find ways to operate in the German investment market. This has become much more difficult under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. An attractive option is to cooperate with a German Master-KVG. We have recently published a new client … Continue Reading
The Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) recently submitted its legislative letter (wetgevingsbrief) for 2020 to the Dutch Minister of Finance (the Minister). This letter is submitted to the Minister annually and sets out the relevant European and national developments relevant to the financial sector and the legislative changes desired … Continue Reading
On 14 April 2020, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) announced that investment funds and investment firms are still not doing enough to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. Under the Act on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing (Wet ter voorkoming van witwassen en financieren van … Continue Reading
On 9 April 2020, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) announced that it follows the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) request in its recent public statement (the Statement) to not prioritise supervisory actions where it concerns compliance with their obligation to publish annual and half yearly reports in … Continue Reading
On 3 April 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published final guidance on performance fees in investment funds – applicable to undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) and certain types of alternative investment funds (AIFs). In respect of UCITS, the guidance applies primarily in relation to Article 14 of the … Continue Reading
On 31 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched a consultation paper on the standard forms, templates, and procedures that Member State national competent authorities (NCAs) should use to publish information on their websites to facilitate cross-border distribution of funds. The consultation paper represents the first stage in the development of draft … Continue Reading
On 31 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced that it was delaying the first reports by money market funds managers under the Money Market Funds Regulation (MMF Regulation) until September 2020. The original date for submissions was April 2020. The amended XML schema and reporting instructions will be published shortly on … Continue Reading
On 27 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued a public consultation on draft guidelines to address leverage risks in the alternative investment fund sector. The consultation has been drafted in response to a recommendation by the European Systemic Risk Board for ESMA to produce guidance on Article 25 of the Alternative … Continue Reading
On 3 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued the official translations of its guidelines on stress test scenarios under the Money Markets Fund Regulation. Member State national competent authorities to which the guidelines apply have to notify ESMA whether they comply or intend to comply with the guidelines within two months … Continue Reading
On 12 December 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its second annual report on sanctions (penalties and measures) imposed by Member State competent authorities (NCAs) under the Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive. The report covers the period from January to December 2018. ESMA found that the number of … Continue Reading
On 10 December 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final report on the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) under Article 25 of the Regulation on European long-term investment funds (ELTIF Regulation). Article 25(3) of the ELTIF Regulation provides that ESMA shall develop RTS to determine the costs disclosure requirements applicable to … Continue Reading
On 4 December 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published an updated version of its Q&As on the application of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). The updated Q&As insert a new question and answer into Section III on reporting to national competent authorities under Articles 3, 24 and 42, explaining how … Continue Reading
In the second webinar of our global asset management series, our team from the UK, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Luxembourg provide their insight and views on their domestic regime’s approach to marketing, investors and structure. The webinar can be viewed here. For further information, please visit our Asset Management Regulation hub that houses … Continue Reading
On 2 September 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a final report on guidelines on liquidity stress testing in UCITS and AIFs (the Guidelines). In April 2018, the European Systemic Risk Board (ESRB) published a set of recommendations to address liquidity and leverage risk in investment funds. One of the ESRB’s recommendations … Continue Reading
On 2 September 2019, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final guidance regarding liquidity stress testing of investment funds – applicable to Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) and Undertakings for the Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS). The report follows an earlier consultation in February 2019 (see previous blog post here) on draft … Continue Reading
On 16 August 2019, the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten, the AFM) published a news item indicating that in the last week of August, alternative investment funds and their managers will be receiving a questionnaire in relation to anti-money laundering and sanctions risks. This questionnaire is circulated annually and the AFM … Continue Reading
On 18 July 2019, the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) published a statement that explains why its 2018 Liquidity Risk Management Recommendations (2018 LRM Recommendations) provide a comprehensive framework for regulators to deal with liquidity risks in investment funds. The statement follows recent media coverage of liquidity problems that have recently affected some investment … Continue Reading
