Industry Updates

European hedge fund regulation (AIFM) clears another hurdle with vote of approval by European Parliament

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

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Opalesque Industry Update – The long road to strict hedge fund regulation in the European Union took another step towards being realized with the Tuesday morning vote of approval for the final text of Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFM) by the European Parliament.

In two weeks (November 11, Strasbourg), the text that received approval today will be voted upon at the European parliament plenary session. That approval is expected to be granted and then the clock will start ticking for European member states to incorporate the directive’s rules into their own national laws (a two year time frame).

The passport requirements for hedge funds not domiciled within the EU has been and continues to be of concern to managers globally.

“The Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) directive is clearly going to have an impact on third country managers and on European managers who are delegating to Asia- based managers. This has already happened a lot for funds with Asian strategies for which it is necessary to have a manager here on the ground. It is also going to impact on the domiciles of funds that are going to be marketed in Europe going forward,” Anne Marie Godfrey, Partner in international law firm Bingham McCutchen’s Investment Management Practice Group, said during the most recent Opalesque Roundtable in Hong Kong.

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has set up a special area of their site with updates regarding the AIFM. The representative body has signaled that the AIFM text is a significant approval from its original, but AIMA still has reservations regarding the directive, specifically the “potential abolition of private placement regimes at a later date”.

The body also says that it will specifically hurt US hedge funds ability to market to European hedge fund investors.

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