AIFM passport compromise for non-EU hedge funds mooted
21 September 2010
If agreed by the EU council, the compromise could end the months-long deadlock between the negotiating parties in Brussels. The EP and the Council have been unable to find common ground on the issue of how to deal with funds and managers based outside the EU.
The EU has moved closer to agreeing on a marketing 'passport’ for hedge funds based outside the EU after the Belgian presidency tabled a compromise on the issue.
Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders said the compromise was a "major step" towards the adoption of the alternative investment fund managers (AIFM) directive. Reynders's remarks were made at a conference in London organised by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The compromise would grant an EU passport for funds that meet certain rules which Reynders did not specify.
Meanwhile, the European Commission's asset management head, Ugo Bassi, Spoke about the rules on depositaries and remuneration in the Ucits directive that would need to be reviewed following the implementation of the AIFM directive.
Bassi said there would be a "coherent approach" to the process rather than forcing the same rules into Ucits as in the AIFM directive. "We'll probably end up with stricter rules in Ucits than AIFM," he said.
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