AMF: The Enforcement Committee Fines an Asset Management Company
January 1, 2022
The AMF Enforcement Committee fined a UCITS and discretionary portfolio management company €100,000.00 for failing to (i) comply with accounting and regulatory capital requirements, (ii) follow a capital monitoring procedure, (iii) keep track of management decisions and conflicts of interest and (iv) carry out ongoing capital monitoring and take account of the recommendations made by the service provider in charge of periodic controls.
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ESMA: Publication of Its Guidance on Appropriateness and Execution-Only Requirements (MiFID 2)
January 3, 2022
ESMA published the final report of its guidance under MiFID 2 on appropriateness and execution-only requirements, following the public consultation carried out in 2019 with stakeholders. Through these guidelines, ESMA intends to improve convergence in the application of suitability and execution-only requirements. Several important aspects of the suitability process are covered, including (i) information that must be provided to clients about the purpose of the suitability assessment, (ii) arrangements for properly understanding clients and products and (iii) matching clients to appropriate products and the effectiveness of warnings. These guidelines will come into force two months after the official translation of the report into the different official EU languages.
AMF: Publication of Its Priorities for 2022
January 5, 2022
The AMF published its priorities for 2022, the final year of its 2018–2022 strategy. The priorities are based on four areas: the European Union, retail investments, sustainable finance (ESG) and the modernization of its activities. It also defined its supervisory priorities, including the valuation of illiquid assets such as real estate and corporate bonds, sustainable finance, the activities of intermediaries and market infrastructures, and marketing and investment advice.
AMF Published 2020 Key Figures for Asset Management
January 18, 2022
This report on asset management covers different topics, including an overview of French asset management companies (general information, profiles, etc.), their activities, profitability, capital and reserves, and risk management and control systems. In particular, the AMF stated that at the end of 2020, the number of authorized portfolio management companies in France had risen significantly (+3.5% in one year compared with +7.8% since the end of 2018), driven by private equity and real estate.
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ESMA Launches a Common Supervisory Action With National Competent Authorities on the Valuation of UCITS and Open-Ended AIFs in the EU
January 20, 2022
ESMA is launching a joint supervisory action with national competent authorities in the EU. The purpose of this action, which will be conducted in 2022, is to assess whether the firms subject to the UCITS and AIFM directives are properly complying with the obligations relating to the valuation of assets.
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Good Practice Regarding Accreditation and ESG Aspects
January 26, 2022
Following the publication of a guide to the interpretation of the SRI label in November 2021, the AMF has recalled elements that are common with its doctrine. The AFG has published a summary of the best practices to be adopted and the applicable provisions (determination of the investment universe, equal-weighted indices, or information to be provided by collective investments integrating extra-financial approaches).
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ESMA: Consultation on ESG Under MiFID 2
January 27, 2022
Given the entry into force on August 2, 2022, of the new ESG provisions of the MiFID 2 Directive, ESMA is launching a consultation on its draft guidance that imposes new requirements on sustainable finance. In addition to the assessment of the client’s knowledge, experience and financial objectives as part of the suitability assessment, asset management companies and intermediaries offering investment advice or portfolio management will have to take into consideration the client’s sustainability preferences in relation to (i) investments aligned with the Taxonomy Regulation, (ii) sustainable investments according to SFDR and (iii) principal adverse impacts (PAI).
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AMF: Update of Its Policy on Funds That Use Total Return Swaps (TRS) and Extra-Financial Criteria
January 27, 2022
Applicable as of January 20, 2022, the amendment to the AMF’s position recommendation DOC-2020-03 defines the standards applicable to management companies concerning the inclusion of extra-financial criteria relating to funds exposed via derivatives, TRS in particular.
