In the February 2013 edition of The Hedge Fund Journal an INDOS Financial article “Depositary-Lite: Simple as the theory sounds?” was published in which we explained the so-called ‘depositary-lite’ regime of the AIFMD, and the issues which the industry could face in seeking to comply with the new requirements. Since February, there have been a number of positive developments which have been summarised in an updated article in the Hedge Fund Journal. The full article can be viewed by clicking here.

INDOS Financial’s Bill Prew talked to the FTfm about the impact of the AIFMD on the alternative fund management industry both in and outside of the EU, the significance (or not) of the 22 July 2013 implementation date, the apparent low level of applications to date and what the AIFMD may mean for institutional investors. To listen to the video – Brave New World for Hedge Funds – visit the following link.

Uneven progress is being made in implementing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) across the European Union, according to a joint study by the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA),  and E&Y.

The AIMA/EY study found that although a majority of EU Member States have either already transposed the AIFMD into law within the transposition deadline of 22 July 2013, or have drafted the final legislation and are awaiting parliamentary approval, only 12 Member States have completed full legislative transposition.

At least five Member States are known to have made little or no progress towards drafting or finalising the required legislation.

• The 12 Member States that have so far transposed the Directive into law are: the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Sweden and the UK
• The 6 Member States that have drafted laws that are awaiting parliamentary approval are: Austria, Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Latvia and Romania
• 5 Member States have not yet begun to transpose the Directive into law: Belgium, Finland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain
• Clarification is awaited from four Member States: Estonia, Greece, Lithuania and Poland.

The AIMA/EY study also found that at least 15 Member States are allowing managers more time to comply with the Directive under transitional periods of up to one year from the transposition deadline, although two of those appear to be extending this relief only to their domestic managers.

The findings are part of a wider AIMA/EY survey on the implementation of the AIFMD. Other areas being looked at include the different approaches being taken across the EU to key areas such as private placement rules, reporting timeframes and remuneration requirements. The full results of the survey will be released in September.

The full press release can be found by clicking on this link.

In this article in COO Connect, the benefits of the pragmatic, flexible independent depositary oversight solution which INDOS Financial is planning to offer hedge funds is explained. In particular it explains why the multiple-firm approach – enabling prime brokers to continue to safe keep a fund’s assets, and the administrator to perform the cash flow monitoring duties, makes sense from an operational and cost perspective and avoids unnecessary duplication. The only entirely new requirement will be the oversight duties which INDOS plans to perform. To read the full article click here.