Source: https://www.algoodbody.com/insights-publications/the-front-page-asset-management-march-2015
Timestamp: 2018-03-22 23:26:51
Document Index: 622821056

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art 14', 'Art 16', 'Art 99', 'Art 10', 'Art 10', 'Arts 3', 'Arts 12']

The Front Page, Asset Management & Investment Funds: EU & International Developments | Mar - 2015 | A&L Goodbody
ESMA has published updated AIFMD Q&A with new reporting issues and some additional guidance on marketing.
Section X1: Scope.
The Capital Markets Union (CMU) is a plan of the European Commission that aims to create deeper and more integrated capital markets in the 28 Member States of the EU. The key aims include:
Providing alternatives to bank finance and greater diversification of funding to the EU economy.
Improving access to finance in Europe for corporates, particularly for SMEs.
Boosting the flow of institutional, retail and international investment into the EU’s capital markets.
Promoting greater competition and choice in capital markets.
The priorities identified for immediate action include:
A review of the current prospectus regime.
The development of an efficient and sustainable capital market for SMEs by building a common set of comparable information for credit reporting, scoring and assessment of SMEs.
The promotion of a high quality securitisation market.
Promotion of ELTIFs to boost long term investment.
Development of a European private placement regime to encourage direct investment in smaller businesses, focussing on standardisation of documentation and legal frameworks.
From a funds industry perspective, proposals include:
Reducing the cost of setting up funds and cross-border marketing more generally.
Encouraging the growth of private equity and venture capital in Europe.
Promoting the take-up of EuVECAs and EuSEFs
Facilitating the direct marketing of EU investment funds in non-EU markets.
Encouraging greater cross-border retail participation in UCITS.
Addressing requirements imposed by host Member States under European marketing passports that could constitute an unjustified barrier to the free movement of capital.
The Commission also aims to identify the main obstacles to integrated capital markets arising from company law, corporate governance, insolvency and taxation frameworks.
Anti- Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) published the outcomes of its 25-27 February meeting. FATF is also working to improve the United Nation's consolidated sanctions list.
The Egmont Group published a paper which sets out 100 sanitised cases to highlight the anti-money laundering work carried out by its member financial intelligence units. The cases have been divided into six categories:
Concealment within business structures.
Misuse of legitimate businesses.
Use of false identities, documents or straw men.
Exploiting international jurisdictional issues.
Use of anonymous asset types.
Effective use of intelligence exchanges.
Funds may find the paper of interest in the context of anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing responsibilities.
On 11 March, the Court of Justice of the EU gave a preliminary ruling on the meaning of information of a "precise nature" in the context of two Directives, namely Directive 2003/6/EC on insider dealing and market manipulation, and Directive 2003/124/EC on the definition and public disclosure of inside information and the definition of market manipulation. The case considered the following point: "Must Article 1(1) of MAD and Article 1(1) of MAD Implementing Directive 2003/124/EC be interpreted as meaning that only information in respect of which it may be determined, with a sufficient degree of probability, that, once it is made public, its potential effect on the prices of the financial instruments concerned will be in a particular direction may constitute inside information?" In effect the preliminary ruling found that MAD requires information to be made public even if the information holder does not know precisely how it will influence the price of financial instruments. The market abuse regime applies to listed funds. Read more.
ESMA published its risk dashboard analysing liquidity, market, contagion and credit risks in European financial markets (no 1, 2015, covering the fourth quarter of 2014). ESMA also published a report on trends, risks and vulnerabilities in the EU securities markets (no 1, 2015, covering the second half of 2014). In its press release, ESMA noted that market conditions in the EU have remained tense, with high asset valuations, stable asset prices over time, but with rising short-term price volatility across key markets. There were strong price movements in foreign exchange and commodity markets, and overall capital market issuance for corporate funding continued to increase.
ESMA looked particularly at:
Fund investments in loans
Monitoring systemic risk in the hedge funds industry
ESMA updates its report semi-annually, complemented by its quarterly Risk Dashboard.
ESMA regulatory work programme
ESMA published its 2015 regulatory work programme pointing out that it has been revised due to budget constraints that ESMA will operate under in 2015, as a result of which the deadlines associated with some guidelines have been delayed. Deadlines of note include;
AIFMD technical advice on the application of passport to marketing of non-EU AIFs by EU AIFMs in Member States and management and/or marketing of AIFs by non-EU AIFMs in Member States; by 22 July 2015.
UCITS V Guidelines and Recommendations on Remuneration (Art 14a(4) and Art 16); deadline N/A. UCITS V must be transposed into national law by Member States by 18 March 2016.
UCITS V implementing technical standards (Art 99e(3)) for the procedure and forms to be used by Competent Authorities submitting information to ESMA on penalties and enforcement measures; by 18 September 2015.
PRIIPs Regulatory Technical Standards (Art 10) on the review, revision and the provision of the KID; likely to be 12 months after entry into force (c December 2015).
PRIIPs Regulatory Technical Standards (Art 10) on the calculation of risk/reward, cost disclosure, and content and format of the KID; likely to be 15 months after entry into force (c March 2016).
EuSEF Technical Advice (Arts 3(2), 9(5), 14(4)) on definition of social business, conflicts of interest, social impact measurement and information to investors; April 2015.
EuSEF Guidelines and Recommendations (Arts 12 (3) and 16); 31 December 2016.
EuVECA Technical Advice on conflicts of interest; by April 2015.
ELTIFs, various Regulatory Technical Standards; expected August 2016.
MiFID, MIFIR, EMIR, Transparency, Market Abuse, CRR, CDR, CRA 3, Omnibus, Solvency II, CSRD and Take Over Bids Directive; various deliverables with various deadlines.