Regs & Compliance

Profile: Melanie Wiese, Deutsche Beteiligungs AG

The CFO and member of the board of management walks us through lessons learned in the course of her career and how her passion for a diverse and collaborative culture translates into practice

FCA cracks down on private market valuations

The review is expected to scrutinise valuation processes, governance and professionals in charge of the process

FCA and PRA propose D&I reporting measures

The consultation papers aim to introduce frameworks to measure D&I objectives

IDR appoints tax services director

Robin Silverthorne joins from NatWest Group

EU to sharpen ban on greenwashing

Predominantly aimed at consumers, some rules of new directive could target funds’ marketing communications

Comment: Ensuring insurers and pension funds invest in PE

Eric de Montgolfier, CEO of Invest Europe, says amendments voted on in July offer a unique opportunity to address the shortcomings of Solvency II

Investment Association calls for EU reforms

Trade body highlights sustainability, new technologies and greater alignment on regulatory issues as areas of concern

BlackRock joins Allfunds’ Private Partners programme

Firm aims to broaden access to its private markets offering for wealth management clients

Ontra expands legal operating platform

Ontra Atlas is an automated entity management solution

Socium Fund Services launches loan agency and administration services

The Suntera Global-owned fund administrator extends its product offering to private credit firms

Amicorp launches ESG reporting and rating service

The new service includes audited ESG reports, analysis, business planning and policy implementation

DIY in the wild wild East

Across Lebanon and Palestine, enterprising GPs are piloting their industry with no legislative framework or operational ecosystem, as Matthias Plötz investigates

Deutsche Beteiligungs AG acquires Elf Capital

The German asset manager will also co-invest up to €100m into Elf Capital’s funds

European Commission opens SFDR consultation

Regulator aims to address shortcomings of legal certainty, usability and potential to counter greenwashing

GPs find brand perception key reason for ESG reporting

A survey conducted by Oliver Wyman and Novata highlights challenges for measuring ESG financial impact

Altum Group granted UCI extension

The extension to the Undertaking for Collective Investment allows the company to offer its services to all alternative investment funds

Gen II launches strategic and digital solutions group

Robert Caporale has been appointed as group president

Atfinity partners with Scrive

Partnership aims to improve digital onboarding and client lifecycle processes

Apex establishes presence in Korea

Non-executive director Simon Hurst will advise on the office launch

Comment: Comply or get off the pension pots

Mayer Brown lawyers examine how defined benefit occupational pension schemes add an additional layer of complexity when a PE firm acquires a distressed business.

Govern up

Shaking off reputation by association can be tough in emerging markets

Valutico partners with Integra International

Tax, audit and accounting association will offer Valutico’s valuation services to its clients

Profile: Yacine Zarrouk, Ardian

Head of Ardian Abu Dhabi reveals to us the strategic aspects of setting up a regional office in the UAE

EFAMA calls for more transparency in ESG ratings framework

The organisation says the European Commission must bring ESG data providers within the regulatory perimeter

Gimme a break

Germany to exempt private equity funds from VAT as part of a broader finance reform package

McGuireWoods ‘appoints’ AI legal assistant

Law firm to use Casetext’s CoCounsel to enhance quality and timeliness of legal services delivered

What’s in a name?

European Commission’s Retail Investment Strategy to further amend AIFMD and do away with ‘undue costs’, broaden definition of professional investor and ban inducements

GP Fund Solutions anchors in Ireland

Fund administrator is the latest non-European player to make a move into the bloc, following the news of Crestbridge and Altum in July

Ogier promotes Tuohy to partner

Tommy Tuohy advises on fund finance in the Cayman Islands

TMF acquires FIDD

The fund administrator consolidation will expand TMF’s presence in Latin America

MSCI acquires Burgiss

MSCI will purchase the remaining 66% of the data provider

The great rebundling

UK signals plans to reinstate research payment bundling, diverging from MiFID II

FCA eyes funds’ fees

Financial watchdog sees improvements in funds’ value assessment processes but there is still a ways to go

CIMA updates private funds governance

Statement of Guidance addresses oversight of funds, relationships with service providers, documentation and communication thereof.

IDR secures Hamilton Lane investment

Hamilton Lane has also integrated IDR’s onboarding services into its own processes

Comment: Avoiding the tripwires

Pinsent Masons partner Mark Shaw details how to avoid regulatory issues when distributing non-EU funds within the EU

Provisional agreement reached on AIFMD reforms

Regulators hone in on liquidity management, loan origination funds and delegation rules and hope to increase investor protection and cooperation of national authorities

ndaOK launches NDA review tool

The AI-based tool automates non-disclosure agreement processing

EFRAG to develop sustainability reporting standards

Association to establish voluntary sustainability reporting standards for SMEs outside of the CSRD’s scope

Guernsey updates compliance audit requirement

GPs are now required to appoint an independent audit role

Lux the builder

How have the Luxembourg toolkit updates affected the funds industry?

‘GPs are becoming more creative’

Following his move from Travers Smith to Dechert, we caught up with fund formation veteran Sam Kay to get his take on the current market

Quality control

CDP’s latest report analyses how a unified global regulatory approach can foster better ESG ratings and data products

Goldman Sachs launches ELTIF

We speak to Barry Fricke, head of EMEA alternatives distribution for wealth at the firm, to understand the operational setup of the fund

Apex acquires Axess Accounting Office

The acquisition expands Apex’s presence in Japan

Regulators continue to woo retail investors in PE

As France proposes to remove further ELTIF restrictions, the FCA issues a policy statement opening up LTAF to retail and DC pensions schemes investors

Iceberg Data Lab launches Barbatus

The tool uses generative AI to produce ESG data analysis

Anduin secures $15.6m

The funding round was led by tech investment firm 8VC

France issued most number of sanctions under AIFMD between 2013 and 2022

ESMA report highlights a lack of harmonisation among EU Member States regarding sanction enforcement

Worldfavor partners with Northpeak

The collaboration will combine Worldfavor’s sustainability data platform with Northpeak’s ESG consultancy services

Luxembourg toolbox updated

A bill has been passed to increase flexibility and clarify certain ambiguities for AIFMs and their investment fund products

5 minutes with… Tim Andrews, IDR

Founder and CEO of the investor onboarding hub shares how its latest fund subscription service strengthens the platform

Profile: Tony Corbin, White Star Capital

The firm's CFO speaks about navigating across jurisdictions, while using Guernsey as an operational base

Unpacking the EU Commission’s sustainable finance package

Concerns about complexity remain as bloc aligns legislation on sustainable investments and looks to regulate ESG ratings providers

FCA cracks down on liquidity management

Financial watchdog’s review finds governance failures around decision making, stress testing and redemption practices

The qualifying factor

To what extent is the QAHC regime benefiting the UK alternative funds industry?

ESMA launches CSA

ESMA and NCAs aim to assess SFDR compliance of supervised asset managers

Raising the (global) standard

What impact are the ISSB’s disclosure standards expected to have on global sustainability reporting requirements?

A&L Goodbody appoints practice head

Partner Stephen Carson will lead the firm’s asset management and investment funds practice in Ireland

A&M Tax appoints senior director

Rasmus Steiness joins from Deloitte