Public consultation on the review of the
alternative investment fund managers
directive (AIFMD)
Fields marked with * are mandatory.
Introduction
The
short version
of this consultation will soon also be available in
23 European Union official
languages.
If you wish to respond in one of these languages, please wait until then to provide your replies.
In the European Union, alternative investment funds (AIFs) are collective investment funds that are not covered by
Direc
tive 2009/65/EC on undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS).
AIFs vary in terms of their
investment strategies, markets, asset types and legal forms. Alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) manage
the AIFs, which are often established for saving or income generating purposes while supporting broader economic
activity, and include venture capital and private equity funds, real estate funds, hedge funds and fund of funds. The
activities of AIFMs are governed by the
alternative investment fund managers Directive 2011/61/EU (AIFMD).
The AIFMD aims to facilitate greater AIF market integration, improve coherence in the actions taken by supervisory
authorities to address potential risks posed to the financial system while ensuring appropriate levels of investor
protection. To this end, an AIFM is required to obtain licence from its home supervisor and adhere to the operational
requirements laid down in the AIFMD and its supplementing
AIFMR,
including taking measures to manage risks and to
ensure the requisite transparency regarding the activities of their managed AIFs.
On 10 June 2020, the European Commission submitted its
report to the European Parliament and the Council on the
scope and the application of the AIFMD.
The report concludes that while the AIFMD has contributed to the creation of
the EU AIF market, provided a high-level protection to investors and facilitated monitoring of risks to financial stability,
there are a number of areas where the legal framework could be improved.
Given the European Commission’s ongoing
efforts to develop the capital markets union (CMU), this consultation seeks the views of stakeholders on how to achieve
a more effective and efficient functioning of the EU AIF market as part of the overall financial system.
Structure of the public consultation
First, this public consultation focuses on improving the utility of the AIFM passport and the overall competitiveness of the
EU AIF industry. The analysed data indicates that the appropriate and balanced regulation of financial markets benefits
investors as well as the overall economy. The questions in the section on
authorisation/scope
seek views from
stakeholders on the scope of the AIFM licence, its potential extension to smaller AIFMs and level playing field
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