CP12/32: Implementation of the Alternative ... - BVCA admin

1
Overview
November 2012
Part I of our consultation
CP12/32
Implementation of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive
1.1 This Consultation Paper (CP) is the first of two planned FSA consultations on rules and
guidance to transpose the requirements of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers
Directive 1 (AIFMD) into UK law. This means making changes to primary and secondary
legislation and to the FSA Handbook. The Treasury and the FSA (the UK Authorities) are
working closely together to achieve a streamlined implementation.
1.2 This paper follows on from our Discussion Paper DP12/1, published in January 2012. In
that paper, we explained the background to the AIFMD and our general approach to
implementing it in the UK. You may find DP12/1 useful for understanding some of the
issues covered in this paper.
1.3 The Treasury is responsible for making legislative changes to ensure that our successor
body, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has the powers it needs to implement
AIFMD. The Treasury will be consulting on this in its consultation document.
Implementing AIFMD
1.4 We must implement regulations transposing AIFMD by 22 July 2013. We have little scope
for discretion in how we do this, because AIFMD is mostly a maximum-harmonising
Directive 2 , but Member States of the EU are allowed a limited number of options or
derogations. 3 Some of these can be exercised by national competent authorities (the FCA
and equivalent regulatory bodies in other Member States). We propose to do this in a
1 Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and
amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010.
2 A maximum harmonising Directive means that Member States have very limited discretion to apply additional requirements or
requirements that differ from those in the Directive.
3 In Article 60 of AIFMD these are: articles 6 (individual portfolio management on a client-by-client discretionary basis), 9 (capital), 21
(depositaries), 22 (annual report), 28 (private equity), 43 (marketing of AIFs to retail investors in a national jurisdiction) and 61(5)
(transitional provision for depositaries).
Financial Services Authority 7