The proposed disclosure rules applicable to UK investment managers have been published for comment by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The rules focus on enhancing transparency on climate-related risks and align...more
In this episode, the second in our three-part EU ESG Considerations for Beginners miniseries, Akin Gump financial regulatory partner Ezra Zahabi looks at the EU’s Taxonomy Regulation and what it means for business.
Among...more
7/1/2021
/ Climate Change ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
European Commission ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investors ,
Sustainability ,
Taxonomy
1. Overview The new rules on the promotion of funds introduced by the new Cross-Border Distribution of Collective Investment Undertakings Directive and Regulation (Cross-Border Distribution of Funds (CBDF) Rules) are due to...more
6/29/2021
/ AIFM ,
Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Cross-Border ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Fund Managers ,
Investment Management ,
Investors ,
Marketing ,
Member State ,
National Private Placement Regimes (NPPR)
This special episode features “Emergence of ESG Transparency,” a webinar featuring two heads of Akin Gump’s ESG group—partners Stacey Mitchell in D.C. and Amy Kennedy in London—along with London partner Ezra Zahabi.
Among...more
The United Kingdom and the European Union have concluded technical discussions on the text of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) referred to in the Joint Declaration on Financial Services Regulatory Cooperation agreed...more
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published the draft Regulatory Technical Standards (“Taxonomy RTS”) on product-level disclosures that apply to funds or portfolios that promote or make environmentally...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has announced that the temporary lower net short position reporting threshold of 0.1 percent under the EU Short Selling Regulation (SSR) with respect to shares traded on an...more
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have published a Consultation Paper1 with proposed changes to the secondary rules regarding margin requirements applicable to non-centrally...more
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published a Supervisory Statement to clarify the application of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in anticipation of the requirements applying in the...more
The European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published the final draft of the Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) under the EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), which set out the detailed disclosure...more
On 24 December 2020, the government of the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) reached a Trade and Cooperation Agreement (the “Agreement”) in advance of the end of the Brexit transition period (11:00 p.m. GMT on...more
1/6/2021
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Asset Management ,
Cooperation Agreement ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Investment Adviser ,
Investment Funds ,
Investment Management ,
UCITS ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
Whether preparing or reviewing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) disclosures for compliance with regulatory requirements in the EU, the United Kingdom (UK) or the United States (US), or for alignment with ESG best...more
12/30/2020
/ Climate Change ,
Corporate Governance ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Popular ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sustainable Finance ,
UK
In response to the unprecedented circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU and the UK temporarily lowered the reporting threshold under the EU Short Selling Regulation (“EU SSR”) for net short positions in shares...more
1. New EU and UK disclosure requirements -
The new disclosure requirements for investment managers and advisers with respect to their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) policies will apply in the European...more
11/25/2020
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Corporate Governance ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Green Finance ,
Investment Management ,
MiFID II ,
Popular ,
SFDR ,
Shareholder Rights ,
Sustainable Finance ,
Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) ,
UCITS ,
UK
On 27 March 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) launched a public consultation on its draft guidelines to assess leverage risks in the Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) sector. In particular, ESMA is...more
On 5 June 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final guidelines on certain aspects of the recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) compliance function requirements (the...more
On 3 June 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published two Opinions clarifying how European Union investment firms trading financial instruments on third-country trading venues (TCTVs) should, from 3...more
Derivatives reporting responsibilities under the European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) will change from 18 June 20201, as (i) alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) will become responsible for reporting for...more
6/16/2020
/ Alternative Investment Funds ,
Derivatives ,
EMIR ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
ISDA ,
Non-Financial Counterparties (NFC) ,
Over The Counter Derivatives (OTC) ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Special Purpose Vehicles ,
UK Brexit
On 10 June 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) renewed its decision to temporarily require holders of net short positions in shares traded on a European Union regulated market to notify the relevant...more
On 18 May 2020, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the non-renewal of the emergency restrictions on short selling and similar transactions by the Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA) of Austria, the Financial...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has confirmed the renewal of the emergency restrictions on short selling and similar transactions by the Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA) of Austria, the Financial Securities and...more
4/17/2020
/ AMF ,
Austria ,
Belgium ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets Authority (FMA) ,
France ,
FSMA ,
Greece ,
Short Selling ,
Spain
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has confirmed that it has adjusted its systems to facilitate reporting in accordance with the decision of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) of 16 March 2020 to...more
In this episode recorded in late February, Akin Gump financial regulatory partners Helen Marshall and Ezra Zahabi, using Akin Gump’s recently published In Principle annual report as a springboard, discuss what U.K. authorized...more
4/2/2020
/ Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) ,
Climate Change ,
Contingency Plans ,
Corporate Governance ,
Cybersecurity ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
EU ,
Executive Compensation ,
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) ,
Institutional Investors ,
Investment Management ,
No-Deal Brexit ,
Pension Schemes ,
Public Sector ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Shareholders ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency ,
UK ,
UK Brexit
BaFin, the German financial regulator, issued on 19 March 2002 a clarification statement confirming that the recent prohibitions on establishing and increasing net short positions imposed by the European Union regulatory...more
Further bans on all types of short selling have been extended by financial regulators in Austria, Belgium, France, Greece, Italy and the UK (in respect of the shares identified by the Spanish and Italian regulators) and now...more
3/19/2020
/ AMF ,
Capital Markets ,
CONSOB ,
EU ,
European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) ,
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ,
Financial Instruments ,
Financial Markets ,
Financial Markets Authority (FMA) ,
FSMA ,
Short Selling