On 21 August 2024, ESMA published the translations in all official EU languages of its Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the Guidelines).
The Guidelines will start applying on 21...more
On 14 May 2024 ESMA published its long-awaited guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the Guidelines).
The Guidelines apply three months after the date of their publication on ESMA’s website...more
5/16/2024
/ AIFM ,
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UCITS
The UK Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) anti-greenwashing rule (Rule) will come into effect on 31 May 2024 and applies to all FCA-authorised firms.
The Rule requires that references made to the sustainability...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is engaging with firms to improve diversity and inclusion in financial services. It has launched a consultation, CP23/20 Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together...more
11/22/2023
/ Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Disposal Protocols ,
Data Reporting ,
Diversity ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Harassment ,
Professional Misconduct ,
Proprietary Information ,
Risk Management ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Suitability Requirements
BaFin has updated and expanded its "Questions and Answers" (Q&A) on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS).
In addition, BaFin published guidance on how the...more
8/23/2023
/ AIFM ,
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
BaFin ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Guidance Update ,
National Competent Authorities (NCA) ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UCITS
On 5 July 2023, BaFin, Germany's financial supervisory authority, outlined its sustainable finance strategy (the Strategy). The Strategy focuses on five areas that BaFin views as key to supporting the transition to a more...more
On 12 April 2023 – less than four months after the RTS under SFDR came into effect and four weeks after a further amended version of the RTS went live, the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) published a consultation...more
6/23/2023
/ AMF ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Payments Council (ECP) ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Markets ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
RTS ,
SFDR ,
Taxonomy
As noted in our earlier OnPoint, on 25 November 2021, the European Commission (the Commission) adopted a package of measures that aimed to deliver on several key commitments in the 2020 Capital Markets Union action plan,...more
5/31/2023
/ AIFM ,
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Capital Markets Union ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Investment ,
Liquidity Risk Management Rule ,
MiFID II ,
Reporting Requirements ,
UCITS
Background-
European regulators have begun reviewing documentation and other information in connection with implementation of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)1 and the Taxonomy Regulation (RTS).2 On...more
On 2 December 2022, Luxembourg’s supervisory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) published an FAQ that seeks to clarify certain items under the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation...more
12/20/2022
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
CSSF ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Luxembourg ,
Proposed Guidance ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UCITS ,
Websites
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288, setting out the regulatory technical standards (RTS) to be used by financial market participants (FMPs) when disclosing sustainability-related information under the Sustainable...more
12/14/2022
/ Adverse Impact ,
Climate Change ,
Commission Delegated Regulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
EU Benchmark Regulation ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Adviser ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Products ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Regulation Technical Standards (RTS) ,
Reputational Injury ,
SFDR ,
Short Selling ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
After some delay, the United Kingdom’s financial services regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) has published Consultation Paper CP 22/20 (Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR”) and investment labels)...more
11/18/2022
/ AIFM ,
Alternative Investment Funds ,
Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Distributors ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Greenwashing ,
Investment ,
Labeling ,
Marketing ,
Retail Investors ,
SFDR ,
Sustainability ,
UCITS ,
UK
The German Financial Regulator, ("BaFin"), published guidance ("Guidance") on 5 September 2022, that provides some further clarity on various questions on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation ("SFDR"). BaFin has...more
10/5/2022
/ BaFin ,
Data Collection ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
European Commission ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Products ,
Financial Regulatory Agencies ,
Germany ,
MiFID ,
New Guidance ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Taxonomy
The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), the Luxembourg financial services regulator, on 27 July 2022 issued a communication to the investment fund industry reminding it of the deadline of 1 January 2023...more
This latest edition of the regulatory initiatives paper sets out at a high level the core regulatory issues that are likely to impact private fund managers in the coming months, including an overview of the key actions needed...more
9/22/2022
/ Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) ,
AML/CFT ,
Anti-Money Laundering ,
Beneficial Owner ,
CFTC ,
China ,
Climate Change ,
Commission Delegated Regulation ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptoassets ,
Custody Rule ,
Cybersecurity ,
Digital Currency ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Economic Sanctions ,
ELTIF ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EONIA ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Act ,
Form PF ,
FSOC ,
Fund Managers ,
Hedge Funds ,
Hong Kong ,
ICE Benchmark Administration (IBA) ,
Investors ,
Libor ,
MiFID ,
MiFID II ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Private Funds ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Regulatory Standards ,
REIT ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Russia ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ,
SFDR ,
Supply Chain ,
Temporary Permissions Regime (TPR) ,
UCITS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit ,
Ukraine
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288, setting out the regulatory technical standards (RTS) to be used by financial market participants (FMPs) when disclosing sustainability-related information under the Sustainable...more
A brief recap – ESAs’ January 2021 letter to the EU Commission, EU Commission response and adoption of RTS
Signed by the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union on 27 November 2019 and published in the...more
Summary -
On 6 April 2022, the European Commission announced that is has adopted the regulatory technical standards to be used by financial market participants when disclosing sustainability-related information under the...more
4/8/2022
/ Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Market Participants ,
New Regulations ,
RTS ,
SFDR ,
Sustainable Finance
As set out in our earlier OnPoint, “Is Brexit Green?”, the UK has adopted a different approach to regulating ESG in the asset management sector compared to the EU by not “on-shoring” the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure...more
4/4/2022
/ Asset Management ,
Climate Change ,
Consultation Papers ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Management ,
Policy Statement ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
SFDR ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UK
In a letter dated 25 November 2021, the European Commission’s Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union (the Director-General) confirmed that the date of application of the...more
The Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) empowered the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) to develop draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) on taxonomy-related product disclosures. On 15 March 2021, the...more
As set out in our earlier OnPoint “Is Brexit Green?”1, the UK has adopted a different approach to ESG compared to the EU, by not “on-shoring” the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”) and focussing...more
Introduction - In this Onpoint, we report on the recent discussion paper: “Diversity and inclusion in the financial sector – working together to drive change” (DP21/2) (the Discussion Paper) recently issued by the Bank of...more
A brief recap - ESAs' letter to the EU Commission January 2021 On 7 January 2021 – less than eight weeks before the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR)1 ‘go live’ date – the Chair of the Joint Committee of the...more
In a letter dated 8 July 2021, the European Commission’s Director-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union confirmed that the date of application of the regulatory technical standards...more