Sophisticated Investor Funds – Page 6 – Global Investment Law Watch

Hong Kong Backs Industry-led Voluntary Code for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers

Nov 02 2023

The Securities and Futures Commission in Hong Kong (SFC) has announced its support for the development of a voluntary code of conduct (VCoC) for ESG ratings and data products providers. The proposed VCoC, which will be open for ESG ratings and data products providers to sign up voluntarily, and will align with international best practices as recommended by the International Organization of Securities Commissions.

Australia: Mandatory Climate Reporting – The Draft Australian Standards are Here!

Oct 30 2023

By: Jim Bulling, Lisa Lautier and Ben Kneebush

On 23 October 2023, the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) released the long-awaited Exposure Draft outlining the Australian climate-related reporting standards.

Hong Kong Proposes Guidelines for Market Soundings

Oct 30 2023

By: Carolyn Sng and Tan Choo Lye

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong is consulting on new guidelines to regulate market soundings in advance of transactions such as private placements and block trades. Market soundings are the communication of non-public information (whether price-sensitive or not) with potential investors prior to the announcement of the transaction to gauge investor interest or assist in determining the specifications of the potential transaction. It can be an integral part of price discovery, but the process may be open to abuse if parties trade on the back of non-public information obtained.

Australia: Mandatory Climate Disclosure-October Update

Oct 11 2023

By: Jim Bulling and Ben Kneebush

As previously discussed in our post, the Australian Treasury has proposed to introduce mandatory climate-related financial disclosure standards in Australia. This will have a profound impact on the financial services industry, as financial services entities (including superannuation funds) will be captured by this disclosure framework. Under a phased implementation, reporting commences on 1 July 2024 for certain large entities.

Europe: Commission Launches SFDR Consultations

Sep 19 2023

By: Gayle Bowen and Áine Ní Riain

On 14 September, the European Commission launched both a public consultation and a targeted consultation on the implementation of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

The Commission aims to understand how the SFDR has been implemented since its initial application in March 2021, as well as to gain an understanding of its potential deficiencies, and to explore potential improvements of the European framework for sustainable finance. These consultations form part of the Commission’s comprehensive assessment of the SFDR framework that was first announced by Commissioner Mairéad McGuinness in December 2022. While the public consultation is addressed to a wide range of individuals and organisations with a general knowledge of the SFDR, the targeted consultation is aimed at financial market participants (FMPs), investors, NGOs, public authorities, regulators, and others that are either subject to the provisions of the SFDR or otherwise have an in-depth knowledge or experience in the area of sustainable finance disclosures.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs – Coming to an Exchange Near You (Maybe)!

Aug 29 2023

By: Rich Kerr, Peter Shea, Andrew Hinkes, and Brian Doyle-Wenger

On 29 August 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Court) issued a decision siding with Grayscale Investments, LLC (Grayscale) and vacated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rejection of the NYSE Arca’s (NYSE) request for approval of a listing rule that would permit it to list shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBT) for trading.

The SEC’s New Rules for Private Fund Advisers: A Dose of Transparency for the Private Markets

Aug 24 2023

By: Ken Holston, TJ Bright, Pablo Man, Matthew Mangan, Chris Phillips-Hart, Annabelle North

On August 23, 2023, the SEC adopted sweeping new rules that will impose substantial regulation on the management and operation of private funds by investment advisers. The rules appear to be somewhat less burdensome than the rules originally proposed in February 2022.

ICYMI: Integrity Council Launches Global Benchmark and Core Carbon Principles for Voluntary Carbon Markets

Aug 18 2023

By: Cheryl Isaac and Christine Mikhael

In case you missed it: late last month, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (“ICVCM”) launched its Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) and Program-level Assessment Framework (Framework). With the publication of these new standards (developed with the input of hundreds of stakeholders in the voluntary carbon markets), we now have a set of fundamental principles for high-quality credits that create a verifiable climate impact, and a framework for determining whether carbon credit programs are eligible to label themselves as being in compliance with the CCPs.

EUROPE: ELTIFs to become standalone product in Ireland

Aug 17 2023

By Shane Geraghty and Gayle Bowen

On the 16 August 2023, following positive engagement with the Central Bank of Ireland (the “CBI”), Irish Funds (the Irish funds industry representative body) announced that the CBI had indicated that it intends to develop a standalone European Long Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) chapter to be included in the CBI’s Alternative Investment Fund (‘AIF’) Rulebook. This will result in ELTIFs becoming a standalone regulated product in Ireland and facilitate the authorisation by the CBI of ELTIFs under Regulation (EU) 2015/760 and its upcoming amending regulation, Regulation (EU) 2023/606 (the ‘ELTIF Regulations’).

Australia: Consultation Opens for Proposed Review of Managed Investment Schemes

Aug 14 2023

By Kane Barnett and Bernard Sia

The Australian Government has released the long awaited consultation paper on the review of the regulatory framework for managed investment schemes. The consultation paper comes on the back of the Government’s announcement of the review earlier in March this year (see our previous update). The current regulatory regime for managed investment schemes commenced in 1998.

Category:Sophisticated Investor Funds