News & Analysis

UK adds suite of AIFMD forms

The FCA will publish a number of new notification forms and a marketing form relating to the AIFMD.

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The UK’s securities regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), will issue a set of new Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) forms for GPs to file.

The FCA, which announced the update in its CP14/4 consultation paper, wants to combine the currently separate forms for domestic and cross-border marketing of funds into one form. GPs should file this form with the FCA if they are: based in the UK and are marketing their fund in either the UK or Europe, or if they are an EU manager marketing a fund in the UK.

The FCA will also impose a new requirement to complete and submit a notification letter alongside the form. The letter should only be completed for fund managers intending to market on a cross-border basis and not if a fund manager intends to only market within the UK.

Another difference for GPs is the FCA’s requirement to complete three separate annexes to the notification letter for each fund. This includes the requirement to complete Annex 3 which asks the fund manager to refer to pages in fund documentation where disclosures, such as a description of the investment strategy and objectives of the fund, and a description of the types of assets in which the fund may invest, are made.

The FCA will also publish a form for fund managers that wish to notify the FCA of their intention to establish a new fund, or take over management of an existing fund from another entity. This form must be provided to the FCA at least one month prior to the date on which the fund manager wishes to start marketing.

Additionally, there is a new form for managers to notify the FCA of amendments to the details of previously notified senior persons and the removal of senior persons at the fund manager. A new form to notify the FCA of other material changes has also been put forward.

The FCA expects to finalize the forms in mid-2014, but it is encouraging firms to use the new AIFMD marketing form attached to the CP14/4 rather than the forms that are currently published on their website.

The consultation paper can be found HERE.