Regulatory update

ESG, retail investors and you

The latest Efama conference brought together regulators and asset managers who championed the idea for product instead of fund labels and brainstormed ideas for retailisation

SDR policy launched

The FCA is introducing an anti-greenwashing rule, four product labels and marketing requirements for investment funds

Budget breakdown

The Drawdown watched the UK Budget statement so you didn’t have to

Cayman Islands removed from FATF’s grey list

Effective prosecution of financial crimes was key element to de-list but domicile stays on EU’s AML blacklist

There and back again

Matthias Plötz reports on the success or otherwise of German GPs´ Luxembourg holidays

A contribution ill defined

The advantages of greater volumes of UK pension money being allocated to alternatives are obvious, says Zetland Capital partner Malcolm Goddard, if an attitude of inertia can be overcome

AIFM-Done

As the EU concludes technical discussions around the AIFMD review, The Drawdown takes stock

ESMA prioritises cyber risks

Digital resilience, including cybersecurity risk management, will be a key priority for the Authority

CMA publishes Green Agreements Guidance

GPs and LPs are unlikely to infringe upon UK competition law for pursuing environmental sustainability agreements

FCA joins Project Guardian

The regulator has joined the policymaker group to assess the use cases of asset tokenisation

Kirkland sets up in Riyadh

Corporate partner Kamran Bajwa to lead the office

BoE’s Financial Policy Committee promotes operational resilience around cybersecurity

Elisabeth Stheeman, external member of the FPC, outlines key risk factors for the finance industry

Kirkland launches SideTrack

Proprietary software to assist with side letter management, specifically most favoured nations clauses

weather eye

Matthias Plötz asks: Will the distant winds of the SEC's Private Funds Rules force changes to European GPs' playbooks

Rubbish in, rubbish out?

The latest SFDR consultation gets the industry thinking about improving entity-level disclosures

European Parliament rejects ESRS objection

MEPs call for private sector to contribute to corporate sustainability transparency

FCA lays out priorities for asset management regime

Regulator´s chair discusses AIFMD´s future in UK regulatory regime and highlights proportionality as guiding principle

Comment: Beware non-EU entities bearing gifts

Dechert partners Michael Okkonen and Clemens York examine the impact of the Foreign Subsidies Regulation on private equity transactions

Waystone finalises LFS deal

LFS’s UK ACD, Irish ManCo, fund administration and TA businesses will be incorporated into Waystone as all contractual conditions have finally been satisfied

DORA the implementer

Following ESA’s public consultation, The Drawdown takes a closer look at the impending regulatory technical standards

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

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

European Commission opens SFDR consultation

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

Luxembourg toolbox updated

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

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

Raising the (global) standard

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

ESMA reviews cross-border marketing requirements

The body’s second report highlights frequent breaches of marketing requirements

The French (ELTIF) revolution

Country further opens the door to individual investors’ capital in the private markets but operational concerns remain

AIFMD reforms delayed

Change in presidency of Council of the European Union leaves little indication for new timeline

Comment: Preparing for regulatory changes in 2023

Ros Clark, regulatory risk assistant director, NatWest Trustee & Depositary Services details the upcoming regulatory changes financial services firms need to prepare for in 2023.

European Commission updates sustainable finance framework

The Commission has proposed the requirement to regulate ESG ratings providers under ESMA

The Drawdown Awards 2023: Winners announced

Congratulations to all of the winners of The Drawdown Awards 2023

ESMA issues opinion on ‘undue costs’

Regulatory authority is concerned about diverging levels of investor protection across the bloc

ESMA calls for input on ELTIF regime

Regulator is taking a closer look at redemption policy and matching mechanism

Blackrock to launch LTAF

The FCA has granted Blackrock approval to launch fourth LTAF on the market

In-house rules: legal versus compliance

As more lawyers move into in-house roles within private equity, they can take up the mantle of either legal or compliance – but how do these functions cross and diverge?

Help your LP help you

As regulatory and economic perspectives on capital allocation diverge, LPs’ expectations towards their GPs are changing

Who watches the watchdogs?

Macfarlanes calls for new independent body to increase democratic accountability and expertise of the UK’s financial services regulator

Jersey widens AML/CFT scope

Jersey private entities with a local administrator no longer exempt from regime

Up close and personal

FCA and HM Treasury take a deep dive into the effectiveness of SMCR so far; we explore what’s included in the consultation papers and what might be up for reform

Not on the guestlist

A connection to public entities could see the EU's new Foreign Subsidies Regulation crash the dealmaking party

Waystone acquires Link Fund Solutions

The deal is dependant on LFS settling with the FCA

Critical about clouds

The UK's bill on operational resilience could empower GPs vis-à-vis cloud service providers, but concerns about regulatory fragmentation leave a bitter aftertaste

The neverending SFDR story

EU’s supervisory authorities look to broaden SFDR disclosure requirements