European Commission adopts implementing rules for AIFMD

European fund managers, including private equity houses, will then have until July 2014 to fully comply with the regulation.

The "Level Two" text has been long-awaited by the private equity industry, being the final step before full implementation. "These rules have been a long time in the making, and the political focus in Brussels moved on quite a while ago," Norton Rose senior associate Imogen Garner said in a statement. "Combine that with overall regulatory fatigue in the industry and I think we have a situation where many managers, particularly the smaller players, are only now really starting to think deeply about the rules' impact."

Garner however warned that the home stretch could be harduous: "Translating the rules into terms market players can readily understand and sign up to will be no mean feat, and getting consensus on their interpretation is likely to be quite a challenge."

Meanwhile EVCA Secretary-General Dörte Höppner stated that the European trade body "welcomes today's publication of the Level Two Delegated Acts for the AIFMD by the European Commission," and noted that the adoption was an important step towards guaranteeing more legal certainty for GPs and LPs alike.

"This regulation recognises private equity as a mature and established asset class and although it could be more proportionate, the industry is prepared for the challenges in terms of cost and timing that the AIFMD poses," Hoppner added. "It is now vital that the AIFMD is implemented consistently across the member states without any gold-plating to ensure a level playing field."

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• Topics
• Regulation
• AIFM Directive