The UK Treasury has listened to industry concerns and intends to give Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFMs) that were managing Alternative Investment Funds (AIF) before 22 July 2013 additional time to submit their variation of permission (VoP) forms to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
This is excellent news for the industry and gives AIFMs valuable time to ensure that their applications are in the best possible shape so as to avoid unnecessary questions from the FCA, which would be an additional drag on resources.
The practical impact is that AIFMs making use of the transitional provisions will still need to be fully AIFMD compliant as at 22 July 2014, but won't need to submit their forms in advance of that date. AIFMs can use the additional breathing space to focus on ensuring compliance with the AIFMD and getting the right business procedures in place, rather than committing to sub-optimal solutions too earlier solely to get the VoP applicable over the line.
In the intervening time between submission and approval, HMT have said that firms can continue to manage AIF in the UK.
Whilst this is great news for many, there are certain AIFMs who will need to stick to the 22 April 2014 deadline. These include those needing to obtain the EU Marking Passport to access certain jurisdictions post 22 July 2014 and those who are unable to make use of the transitional provisions i.e. new AIFMs. These firms should continue to aim for submission as early as possible.
In the New Year HMT intends to give legal effect to these provisions but amending the UK AIFMD Regulations.
More information on the HM Treasury Consultation outcome.
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Deloitte on the AIFMD
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