Asset Management Policy Five Years On: Which Balance and Prospects?
The AIFMD is commonly heralded as the most important regulatory reform of the asset management industry in Europe since the 2008 financial crisis, but certainly not the only one. In this ECMI Seminar, Tilman Lueder (Head of Unit for Asset Management, European Commission) met ECMI members to discuss the progress in implementing the AIFMD and the rest of the regulatory agenda pursued by its unit.
The main challenge identified was the completion of cooperation arrangements with third countries, required by the AIFMD for the delegation of activities to foreign firms. Failure to complete those on time (July 2013) could also delay the introduction of the passport for non-EU managers, scheduled for 2016. The seminar also addressed the upcoming framework for less liquid investment funds, the regulation of money market funds and the next steps following the recent consultation on UCITS - with discussants from Aberdeen, Clifford Chance, PwC and Northern Trust.