The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its final draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) relating to liquidity management tools (LMTs) under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive...more
On 14 February 2025, the EU’s securities and markets regulator, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), launched a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with EU Member State National Competent Authorities (NCAs), in...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published three sets of Q&As to provide further detail on the guidelines on funds which use ESG or sustainability-related terms in their names. The guidelines relate to...more
The Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation on extending the new payment optionality for investment research to pooled funds. This proposal will allow asset managers to use the new payment optionality that was...more
The “retailisation” of private funds has been one of the industry’s most significant trends in recent years, with fund managers seeking sources of capital beyond their usual institutional, professional and sophisticated...more
On 14 May 2024, ESMA published its final guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the Guidelines). As a result, the use of certain environmental, social and governance (ESG) or...more
The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) data reporting requirements apply to European Union (EU) funds and EU fund managers. UK EMIR imposes reporting requirements on UK funds and UK managers. The reporting...more
Q: What is DORA? “DORA” stands for the Digital Operational Resilience Act, an EU regulation that creates a new framework for the EU financial sector with regard to information and communications technology (ICT)....more
On 17 May 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) issued its Opinion on undue costs of UCITS and AIFs (the Opinion). BACKGROUND TO THE OPINION - The Opinion follows ESMA’s Common Supervisory Action (CSA)...more
On 24 March, the Central Bank of Ireland (the Central Bank) issued a “Dear Chair” letter (the Letter) following its review in 2021 of the costs and fees charged to undertakings for collective investment in transferable...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
SCOPE - On 2 August 2021, The European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published the Guidelines on Marketing Communications (the Guidelines) under the regulation on cross-border distribution of funds, which...more
On 25 November, the European Commission published its long awaited AIFMD Review package including a proposal amending the AIFMD and the UCITS Directive on delegation, liquidity risk management, provision of depositary and...more
Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 of 27 November, 2019 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector, as amended by Regulation (EU) of 18 June, 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate...more
COVID-19: phased ending of FCA temporary relief extending deadlines for publishing fund reports and accounts - On 9 September 2020, the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) updated its COVID-19-related webpage on...more
This briefing summarises the key announcements in the Spring Budget from a funds perspective: including the UK funds review, the SDLT surcharge for corporate and individual non-resident purchasers of UK residential property...more
The new European Union rules requiring reporting by fund managers of securities financing transactions (SFT) take effect on October 11, 2020. While the scope of the reporting requirements under Article 4 of the Securities...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Regulator has published a “Dear Chairman” letter addressed to Authorized Fund Managers requesting them to review certain aspects of the liquidity management arrangements for the authorized funds...more
From April 2020 depositaries under the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”) will need to obtain independent legal advice regarding the protections under U.S. insolvency law afforded to the assets under...more
• The revised UT Code came into effect on 1 January 2019, with a 12-month transition period for compliance by funds currently registered with the SFC. • Revised regulatory standards will impact all SFC-authorised funds and...more
Background - On 1 January 2018, European Union (EU) Regulation (No 1286/2014)[1] on key information documents for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs) comes into force. It will require that a...more
On 28 June 2017 the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published the final report for its study into the UK asset management market. The report describes the FCA’s final findings and sets out the regulatory changes and...more
The revised EU Markets in Financial Instruments package—known as MiFID II—takes effect on January 3, 2018. New rules on trading inducements, research, best execution, market transparency and the regulation of algorithmic...more
Regulation (EU) 2015/2365, the Securities Financing Transactions Regulation (SFTR), imposes a number of requirements on EU fund managers (see the previous Akin Gump client alert on SFTR, The New Securities Financing...more
On January 12, 2017, the ESMA published an opinion on the impact of exclusion of fund management from the entire scope of MiFIR (Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation) (Regulation 600/2014). Although, under...more