Tag:Italy

1
Europe: National Regulators Announce Digital Operational Resilience Act Reporting Windows
2
Europe: ESMA and National Regulators Launch Coordinated Review of Fund Manager Compliance and Internal Audit Functions
3
Europe: Proposed UK and EU Rules on More Research Cost Re-Bundling Move Closer
4
Europe: Central Bank of Ireland Changing Notification Procedure for UCITS and AIF Passporting Applications
5
Europe: European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulations for ELTIF 2.0 and Rejects Key Changes Proposed by ESMA
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Europe: ESMA publishes Guidelines on fund names using ESG or sustainability-related terms
7
Europe: UK’s Overseas Funds Regime Moves a Step Closer with Confirmation that Most EEA UCITS Will Be Deemed Equivalent
8
Europe: ESMA Publishes Long-Awaited Final Report on ELTIF 2.0 Regulatory Technical Standards
9
Europe: New Screening Criteria for the EU Taxonomy’s Environmental Objectives
10
Europe: Commission Launches SFDR Consultations

Europe: National Regulators Announce Digital Operational Resilience Act Reporting Windows

By: Shane Geraghty, Dr. Ulrike Elteste, and Ruth Hennessy

EU national supervisory authorities will collect the Register of Information (ROI) pursuant to the EU’s Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) from in scope financial entities in April 2025, with the reference date set as 31 March 2025. ROIs are reports by in-scope EU financial entities on all contractual arrangements on the use of information and communication technology (ICT) services provided by ICT third-party service providers. The financial entity must differentiate between providers who are not critical and providers who are considered critical and important.

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Europe: ESMA and National Regulators Launch Coordinated Review of Fund Manager Compliance and Internal Audit Functions

By: Shane Geraghty, Hazel Doyle, and Gayle Bowen

On 14 February 2025, the EU’s securities and markets regulator, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), launched a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with EU Member State National Competent Authorities (NCAs), in relation to compliance and internal audit functions of UCITS management companies and Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) across the EU.

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Europe: Proposed UK and EU Rules on More Research Cost Re-Bundling Move Closer

By: Phillip Morgan, Andrew Massey, and Raghu Meena

In the United Kingdom, the FCA has proposed to give fund managers (including UCITS Mancos and full-scope UK AIFMs) an option to use fund assets to pay jointly for execution and research (so-called ‘bundled’ payments). The existing options of paying for research from manager funds or operating a customer-financed research payment account would remain. Final rules are expected in the first half of 2025. This follows the introduction on 1 August 2024 of a similar option for separate account managers as discussed here.

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Europe: Central Bank of Ireland Changing Notification Procedure for UCITS and AIF Passporting Applications

By: Gayle Bowen, Emma O’Dwyer, and Aoife Maguire

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) is changing the process for the submission of UCITS and AIF passport notifications and de-notifications.

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Europe: European Commission Adopts Delegated Regulations for ELTIF 2.0 and Rejects Key Changes Proposed by ESMA

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.

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Europe: ESMA publishes Guidelines on fund names using ESG or sustainability-related terms

By: Áine Ní Riain, Dr Philipp Riedl, and Ruth Hennessy.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its much anticipated Final Report: Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (Guidelines).

This follows a consultation on the subject between November 2022 and February 2023 and an update provided by ESMA last December.

Acknowledging the significant impact of fund names on investor decision-making, ESMA has determined that a fund with ESG- or sustainability-related terms in its name must apply at least 80% of its investments to meet environmental or social characteristics or sustainable investment objectives.

The Guidelines also apply exclusion criteria for certain terms in fund names:

  • “Environmental”, “impact” and “sustainability”- related terms will require compliance with the exclusions applicable to Paris-aligned Benchmarks; and
  • “Transition, “social” and “governance”- related terms will necessitate compliance with the exclusions applicable to Climate Transition Benchmarks.

Use of “sustainability”-related terms in fund names will require a commitment to “invest meaningfully” in sustainable investments. Similar use of “transition” or “impact” – related terms will require that the relevant fund’s investments used to meet the 80% threshold are on a clear and measurable path to transition or are made with the objective to generate a positive, measurable impact alongside a financial return.

The Guidelines will apply to all EU UCITS and EU AIFs, and it currently seems likely that they will also apply to non-EU funds marketed into the EU (this is a point on which we will be watching developments closely).

The Guidelines are expected to come into force in Q3 or Q4 2024, subject to completion of administrative formalities including a decision by national competent authorities on whether to apply them locally (which is generally expected). Existing funds will have an additional 3-month transition period before compliance becomes mandatory.

Europe: UK’s Overseas Funds Regime Moves a Step Closer with Confirmation that Most EEA UCITS Will Be Deemed Equivalent

By: Shane Geraghty, Aoife Maguire, Andrew Massey, Philip Morgan, and Courtney Hunter

The UK’s overseas funds regime has been in development for several years and is finally close to becoming a reality. It will create a more streamlined method by which non-UK funds given “equivalence” status may be marketed to UK retail investors.

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Europe: ESMA Publishes Long-Awaited Final Report on ELTIF 2.0 Regulatory Technical Standards

By: Gayle Bowen and Shane Geraghty

On 19 December, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final report setting out draft Regulatory Technical Standards under the amended European Long-Term Investment Funds Regulation.

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Europe: New Screening Criteria for the EU Taxonomy’s Environmental Objectives

By: Áine Ní Riain and Gayle Bowen

Following their adoption and publication in draft form by the European Commission last June, two new EU Taxonomy delegated acts were published in the Official Journal on 21 November, and will apply from January 2024. They confirm new and amended technical screening criteria (TSCs) in relation to the environmental objectives in the Taxonomy Regulation.  This is a significant build-out in the application of the Taxonomy Regulation given that for an economic activity to be taxonomy-aligned, it must:

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Europe: Commission Launches SFDR Consultations

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.

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