Exploring the legal and regulatory issues affecting the worldwide asset management community.
By: Kane Barnett
What the ASIC chair said
At a recent industry event, the chair of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), indicated that ASIC would be increasing its scrutiny of private market funds.
Read MoreBy Matthew J. Rogers and Maxwell J. Black
A bipartisan group in the US Congress has introduced legislation that aims to foster artificial intelligence (AI) innovation within the financial services industry by creating regulatory sandboxes. This new bill marks a significant step toward a unified, nationwide framework for regulating AI in the financial services industry.
Read MoreBy: Áine Ní Riain and Michelle Lloyd
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has today closed its Call for Evidence (CfE) on the review of the UCITS Eligible Assets Directive (EAD).
Read MoreBy: Matthew Watts, Lisa Lautier, and Dhivya Kalyanakumar
Environmental Futures
In a push to support investors through the energy transition, the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has listed a suite of environmental futures contracts on ASX 24 covering:
Read MoreBy: Ed Dartley and Jamie M. Robinson
The clock ran out Monday, 22 July 2024 for the SEC and its timeline to appeal the unanimous decision of the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to vacate the Private Fund Adviser Rules (PFAR). The 2023 August adoption of PFAR and the Fifth Circuit’s 2024 June subsequent decision to vacate, has caused both controversy and compliance confusion across the private fund sector over the last few years. Even in the absence of an appeal, open questions remain surrounding the implications of future rulemaking under Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act and the SEC’s stated goal to enhance transparency in the private funds space.
While the next steps for the SEC remain to be seen, managers and investors alike will still need to gauge market reaction to the core principles of PFAR and how they may drive industry initiatives separate and apart from any future regulatory efforts. For example, Institutional Limited Partners Association (ILPA) continues to adjust the parameters of the “Quarterly Reporting Standards Initiative” which was launched in early 2024 and proposes model reporting forms that are substantively similar to what was proposed in the Quarterly Statements provision of PFAR. Now that the “wait and see” attitude on PFAR is past us, it can be expected that private fund industry participants will continue to explore the parameters of the goals that PFAR tried to achieve.
By: Gayle Bowen and Shane Geraghty
The European Commission (EC) has adopted the long awaited ELTIF 2.0 Delegated Regulation (RTS). Its version rejects a number of key proposals previously introduced by ESMA. In particular, the EC has returned to its original versions of Annex I and Annex II, with minor amendments.
Read MoreBy: Jim Bulling and Edwina Frost
Authorised representatives of Australian Financial Service License (AFSL) holders and credit representatives of Australian Credit Licence (ACL) holders may be deemed “contractors” for payroll tax purposes, following a recent ruling by the Supreme Court of NSW.
Read MoreBy: Kai Zhang, Philip J. Morgan, Andrew J. Massey, and Hazel Doyle
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its final rules for the UK’s Overseas Funds Regime (OFR) (see our prior blogs here and here which discuss eligibility and the expected OFR launch timetable).
Read MoreBy: Claudine Salameh and Tamsyn Sharpe
From 1 January 2025, Prudential Standard CPS 190 (CPS 190) will come into effect for Registrable Superannuation Entity (RSE) licensees. These entities will be required to have detailed recovery and exit plans to support the navigation of events which may threaten their financial viability. Following a recent review of the superannuation industry’s preparedness for the commencement of CPS 190, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) expressed the urgent need for RSE licensees to ‘consider and develop more robust and effective‘ contingency plans.
Read MoreBy: Jim Bulling and Emre Cakmakcioglu
In May 2024, the NSW Anti-slavery Commissioner (Commissioner) published a Discussion Paper introducing a draft Code of Practice (Code) to reduce modern slavery in the financial services sector. The Commissioner sought feedback on both the Discussion Paper and Code by 15 July 2024.
Read MoreCopyright © 2024, K&L Gates LLP. All Rights Reserved.