Industry Updates

AIMA calls for flexibility and diversity in the AIFM

Monday, January 17, 2011

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Opalesque Industry Update - AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has called for the implemented form of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) to be flexible, proportionate and based on the principles of openness and transparency.

In a consultation response sent to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), AIMA’s Jiri Krol, director of policy and government affairs said: “We welcome the opportunity to engage constructively in AIFMD implementation and are happy that ESMA is taking stakeholder consultation extremely seriously. We commend the high level of their professionalism in this complicated process with tight deadlines.”

AIMA said it hoped that ESMA would implement the AIFMD in such a way as to take account of one of the most striking features of the hedge fund sector – its great diversity.

“Flexibility, proportionality and openness are three key features which the regulation should retain if it is to succeed in delivering the policy objectives while preserving the existing breadth of business models and strategies,” said Krol.

AIMA pointed out that while some of the larger hedge fund firms may employ several hundred staff and manage over US$10 bn, the majority are smaller businesses, with much fewer staff and managing assets of less than US$1 bn in many cases.

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