Along with representatives from members who engage in the numerous committees and working groups set up and organised by ALFI, the association's specialists in the legal and tax team work hard to coordinate these bodies' activities. The vast amount of output from the groups reflects the complexity and dynamic of the fund centre. The legal and tax specialists at ALFI also closely monitor all relevant legislative and regulatory developments and have summarised some of the major subject matters below.
See below some of the topics that have kept them busy over the past year.
AML
At European level, two AML documents have been of particular relevance for our industry during this past year. Read more
MiFID II/MiFIR
Since entering into force on 3 January 2018, the Directive on Markets for Financial Instruments (MiFID) II has continued to demonstrate its impact across the EU, and professionals have been seeking practical and efficient solutions to ensure compliance with the new rules. Read more
Performance fees
ALFI’s performance fee working group has been busy over the past year. Mid July 2019, ESMA published a consultation paper regarding guidelines on performance fees in UCITS. ESMA had added this topic to its key priorities for the 2019 Supervisory Convergence Work Programme. Read more
Liquidity management
In 2018, the ESRB published recommendations on an action to address systemic risks related to liquidity mismatches and the use of leverage in investment funds. The ESRB recommended that ESMA develop guidance on how asset managers should carry out liquidity stress tests. Read more
Cross-border market developments
Luxembourg investment funds continue to be the reference in terms of cross-border distribution, with Luxembourg UCITS being distributed in 70 countries worldwide and new countries welcoming these products recognised for their high level of investor protection. Read more
Market infrastructure
Exemptions applicable to small-sized funds in the fields of clearing and exchange of collateral: Read more
FinTech
FinTech and technology in general are an important focus for ALFI. The Association’s Digital/FinTech Forum aims to raise awareness, identify the challenges and develop the opportunities inherent in new digital technologies for the fund industry. Read more
Brexit
Luxembourg and London are long-standing partners in the asset management and fund industry: funds are domiciled in Luxembourg while portfolio management is often carried out in the UK. UK asset managers are the second-largest group of initiators of Luxembourg investment funds. Read more
Tax
DAC 6, ATAD and digital taxation: Read more.
Covid-19
The coronavirus pandemic came unexpected. Pandemics are not new, but the magnitude of this one is unprecedented. Governments, the financial sector and economic actors generally as well as citizens and the civic society are facing challenges that no one had fully anticipated. This requires new responses, pragmatism, a sense of unity and cooperation. Read more