Money Market Funds – Global Investment Law Watch

Europe: European Commission Delays “Non-Essential” Level 2 Measures Concerning AIFMD II and the UCITS Review

Oct 08 2025

By: Gayle Bowen, Shane Geraghty, Mathieu Volckrick, and Dr. Philipp Riedl

In a letter dated 1 October 2025, the European Commission has announced that it will not adopt any non-essential Level 2 acts in respect of AIFMD II or the UCITS review, before 1 October 2027 at the earliest. The list of “non-essential” measures now postponed includes technical standards (i) for loan-originating funds to maintain open-ended features and (ii) on information exchange between national regulators and EU institutions.

It is further reported that the Commission has considered amending, or even repealing, certain acts via an Omnibus package dedicated towards Level 2 measures.

The European Securities and Markets Authority was due to deliver the final draft measures on open-ended loan-originating funds to the Commission this month following their earlier consultation on this topic. It is unclear whether this will now happen.

The Commission letter comes as EU Member States are preparing for AIFMD II implementation.

In Ireland, the Department of Finance issued a Feedback Statement exercising a number of discretionary provisions provided to Member States under the Level 1 Directive. The Central Bank has also commenced a consultation on a complete overhaul of the Irish private funds regime, proposing a copy-out approach to AIFMD and relaxing a number of its requirements, to align with other EU jurisdictions.

On 3 October, Luxembourg published its draft transposition legislation implementing the AIFMD/UCITS review into national law. According to an initial assessment, the Bill implements the provisions of the AIFMD review on a one-to-one basis, without gold plating and exercises several options provided to Member States under the Level 1 Directive.

Germany published its draft legislation implementing AIFMD/UCITS review on 9 July and has also adopted a copy out approach without any gold plating.

Australia: ASIC Seeks to Clarify the Scope of the “Authorised Representative” Exemption

Sep 03 2024

By: Kane Barnett and Daniel Nastasi

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has appealed certain findings in the recent decision in Australian Securities and Investments Commission v BPS Financial Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 457 (BPS Financial Decision) in relation to the scope of the authorised representative exemption. The authorised representative exemption is commonly relied upon and allows a person or entity to provide a financial service under the Corporations Act on behalf of the holder of an AFS licence without having to hold an AFS licence itself.

United States: CME Group Clarifies and Emphasizes the Duty to Supervise Trading on its Markets

Aug 09 2024

By: Clifford Histed and Cheryl Isaac

If you or your company trades on CME, CBOT, NYMEX or COMEX (CME Group exchanges, collectively referred to herein as “CME”), you will need to take note of CME’s new Market Regulation Advisory Notice (MRAN), which became effective on 16 July. The new MRAN is called “Supervisory Responsibilities for Employees and Agents” and should be reviewed closely to understand CME’s expectations related to diligent supervision, including policies, trainings, monitoring, remediation and sanctions.

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

Feb 02 2024

By: Shane Geraghty, 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.

United States: SEC Staff Publishes FAQs on Tailored Shareholder Reports

Jan 23 2024

By: Cal Gilmartin, Abigail Hemnes, and Michael Davalla

This past Friday, the SEC staff issued a set of responses to FAQs on the Tailored Shareholder Reports (TSRs) Rule. While these responses only represent the views of the staff of the Division of Investment Management and have no legal force or effect, they provide welcome clarity and guidance on certain elements of the Rule that had been the subject of discussion across the industry.

Asia: ICMA’s Code of Conduct for ESG Ratings and Data Products Providers – A Step Towards Consistent Global Standards

Dec 18 2023

By: Sook Young Yeu

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has released a voluntary code of conduct for ESG ratings and data products providers (the Code), reflecting recommendations by the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The Code is intended to be internationally interoperable and may be used by jurisdictions where no local code or regulation is in place.

Europe: Final SDR rules published by FCA – Time to label your funds (maybe)

Dec 01 2023

The FCA has published its final rules on the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime. The key features include:

Asia: Tokenisation of SFC-authorised Investment Products: What You Need to Know

Nov 13 2023

By: Carolyn Sng and Tan Choo Lye

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (SFC) has on 2 November 2023 issued guidance for the tokenisation of investment products authorised by it for offer to the public in Hong Kong, such as mutual funds, unit trusts and other collective investment schemes. The SFC is adopting a see-through approach, permitting tokenisation of authorised investment products if the underlying product satisfies all applicable authorisation requirements and additional safeguards are in place to address the new risks associated with tokenisation arrangements.

United States: CFTC Proposes to Broaden Scope of Eligible Collateral for Initial Margin

Jul 28 2023

By: Kenneth Holston, Cheryl Isaac, Matthew Rogers and Gustavo De La Cruz Reynozo

On July 26, 2023, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) proposed an amendment (“Proposal”) to, among other things, expand the universe of eligible collateral for the CFTC’s initial margin (“IM”) requirements for uncleared swaps. The Proposal would result in swap dealers that are not subject to prudential regulation being able to use a broader range of money market funds (“MMFs”) and similar funds as collateral to meet their uncleared swap IM requirements under CFTC Regulation 23.156(a)(1)(ix).

United States: SEC Passes New Money Market Fund Rules: Swing Pricing is Out and Mandatory Liquidity Fees are In

Jul 12 2023

By: Max Black, Michael Davalla and Cal Gilmartin

On July 12, 2023 the SEC adopted rules applicable to money market funds (“MMFs”). The new rules change: (i) liquidity thresholds; (ii) liquidity fees and redemption gates; (iii) options for responding to negative interest rate environments; and (iv) reporting obligations. Importantly, the SEC declined to impose swing pricing mechanisms on MMFs depending on their net redemptions. The new rules institute mandatory liquidity fees for institutional prime funds and institutional tax exempt funds.

Tag:Money Market Funds