The first half of 2024 has been a bumper year for European Collateralized Loan Obligations and a mix of market and legislative catalysts could push the second half into record-breaking territory The European Collateralized...more
On 24 July 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published an opinion (the “Opinion”) outlining its long-term vision for the functioning of the European Union’s sustainable finance framework (the...more
On 31 May 2024, a new anti-greenwashing rule is being introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) as part of its Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR”). We cover here the introduction of the FCA’s...more
On 4 December 2023 the European Supervisory Authorities (the “ESAs”) published their final report on updating the regulatory technical standards of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR Level 2”). The...more
As the market continues to evolve with the dynamics of sustainable finance legislation, managers are often facing challenges in how to best navigate competing investor demand and sentiment on environmental, social, and...more
The European Commission recently launched two consultations — a public consultation and a targeted consultation (collectively, the Consultations) — seeking stakeholders’ feedback on potential changes to the Sustainable...more
The Commission has launched a far reaching consultation and review of SFDR, long expected by the industry. This bulletin provides an overview, as well as giving thought as to what we might see in terms of SFDR 2.0....more
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
The Commission has clarified requirements for financial product classifications and the definition of “sustainable investment” under the SFDR. ...more
Go to any private equity event in the last 12 months, and “energy transition” will have been discussed, meaning the shift in energy production away from fossil‑based systems to low or zero carbon ones. As fund managers...more
ESG – environmental, social and governance factors – has become a major focus for organisations which are under growing pressure to demonstrate they are doing the right thing and executing their commitments to sustainable...more
There have been numerous positive developments in the evolution of ESG investing. Still, the research needed to assess which investments are truly ESG-compliant and which are tantamount to greenwashing is burdensome...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
Welcome to Alston & Bird’s second quarterly update on the secondaries market. In this issue, we share insights on real estate secondaries, GP consent trends, current market updates (courtesy of M20 for this issue), and news...more
Debt issuance linked to environmental, social and governance (ESG) metrics has accelerated at an unprecedented pace in 2021, as issuers move to position their credits to meet swelling investor demand for green and...more
In this episode, the first in our three-part EU ESG Considerations for Beginners miniseries, Akin Gump financial regulatory partner Ezra Zahabi looks at the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and what it means...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
This week sees the introduction of significant changes to the rules and regulations governing the marketing of alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) to investors in the Member States of the European Economic Area (the “EEA”)...more
In this episode, which concludes our three-part EU ESG Considerations for Beginners miniseries, Akin Gump financial regulatory partner Ezra Zahabi looks at EU ESG developments and risks and what business should know about...more
As recently confirmed, the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), becomes effective on 10 March 2021. The SFDR imposes sustainability-related disclosure requirements on financial services institutions such as...more