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
The European Council (Council) and the European Parliament (Parliament) announced on 30 June 2022 that they had reached a provisional agreement on the proposal for regulation on markets in cryptoassets (MiCA). The text of...more
10/6/2023
/ Cross-Border ,
Cryptoassets ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
E-money tokens ,
European Banking Authority (EBA) ,
European Council ,
European Parliament ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Services Industry ,
MiFID ,
Public Disclosure ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
Utility Tokens
In January 2019, we published a newsflash “Luxembourg Register of Beneficial Owners Has Arrived”1 on the publication of a law2 that established the Luxembourg Register of Beneficial Owners (Registre des Bénéficiaires...more
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 11 July 2023, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted bill of law n°8183 which amends five existing Luxembourg laws relating to alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) and alternative investment fund managers (“AIFMs”), namely the...more
7/26/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
ELTIF ,
EU ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
Luxembourg ,
New Regulations ,
UK
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
The final Trilogue meeting to discuss AIFMD 2.0 under the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, scheduled for 26 June, was cancelled.
AIFMD 2.0 will not be finalised under the Swedish Presidency....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
Introduction -
The “Projet de loi relatif à l’industrie verte” (green and sustainable industry draft law, hereinafter the “Bill”) was approved on 17 May 2023 by the French “Conseil des Ministres”, a weekly meeting of...more
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 9 March 2023, the Luxembourg Parliament adopted the Blockchain III Law. The Blockchain III Law – which was published on 17 March 2023 – amends, amongst others, the Financial Sector Law2 and the Financial Collateral Law....more
The Luxembourg government published bill of law n°8183 (the “Bill”) on 24 March 2023 that amends five existing laws on alternative investment funds (“AIFs”) and alternative investment fund managers (“AIFMs”), namely the UCI...more
3/28/2023
/ AIFM ,
AIFs ,
Annual Reports ,
Companies Act ,
CSSF ,
ELTIF ,
Liquidation ,
Luxembourg ,
New Legislation ,
Reserved Alternative Investment Funds (RAIF) ,
Shareholders ,
SICARs ,
UCIs ,
UCITS
AMF: Articles 8 and 9 SFDR should set minimum environmental standards for financial products -
On 10 February 2023 the French regulator (Autorité des Marchés Financiers (“AMF”)) published its proposals as to changes it...more
This OnPoint summarizes the panel discussion at Dechert’s annual investment funds conference that took place in Luxembourg in the last quarter of 2022. At the conference, we discussed the Regulation on the Markets of Crypto...more
1/27/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Alternative Trading System (ATS) ,
Broker-Dealer ,
CFTC ,
Cryptoassets ,
Digital Ledger Technology ,
Enforcement Actions ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
European Parliament ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
FinCEN ,
FSOC ,
Howey ,
Investment Funds ,
MiFID ,
Prospectus Regulation (PR3) ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Stablecoins
On 25 January 2023, the FCA published its key findings on the state of implementation of firms’ plans to embed the new Consumer Duty within their businesses. The Consumer Duty will apply from 31 July 2023 in relation to new...more
Since Regulation (EU) 2015/760 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2015 on European long term investment funds (ELTIF Regulation) was adopted, only a few European long-term investment funds (ELTIFs) have...more
1/18/2023
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Borrowing Statutes ,
Conflicts of Interest ,
ELTIF ,
EU ,
European Economic Area (EEA) ,
FinTech ,
Fund of Funds ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
Private Funds ,
Reserved Alternative Investment Funds (RAIF) ,
Retail Investors ,
Suitability Requirements ,
UCITS
On 9 December 2022, in Edinburgh, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a set of reforms that are intended to drive growth and competitiveness in the financial services sector (the Edinburgh Reforms or the Reforms)....more
12/20/2022
/ Capital Markets ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FSMA ,
Long-Term Investment Funds ,
MiFID ,
Packaged Retail And Insurance-Based Investment Products (PRIIPS) ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Scotland ,
Short Selling ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK ,
Value-Added Tax (VAT)
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
On 20 July 2022, just over 18 months after the end of the transition period that marked the UK’s full departure from the EU, HM Treasury laid the Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022-2023 (the Bill) before Parliament for...more