On 12 May 2015, ESMA published an updated Q&A regarding the application of AIFMD. In particular, the Q&A document provides that:

  • In the case of AIFs pursuing private equity strategies, AIFMs should consider actual capital drawdowns and not commitments when they report information on subscriptions (Section III, Question 57).
  • A registered AIFM that has opted in under the Directive has to comply with the Directive in its entirety. Therefore, an AIFM that has opted in has to comply with the reporting obligations to its national competent authorities. However, the fact that the AIFM has opted in to the Directive does not impact the reporting frequency (Section III, Question 58).
  • Non-EU AIFMs whose total value of assets under management does not exceed the AIFMD thresholds and that market their AIFs in the EU under a national private placement regime should at least report to the competent authorities where they market their AIFs information on the main instruments in which they are trading, the principal exposures and the most important concentrations of the AIF (Section III, Question 59).
  • The reporting frequency of an AIF is not affected by the legal structure of the AIF. Each AIF, being sub-funds of the same umbrella AIFs or not, has to be treated separately for the purpose of the reporting obligations (including for the reporting frequency) (Section III, Question 62).
  • AIFMs should take into account cash and cash equivalents for the purpose of reporting the main instruments in which the AIF is trading, the principal exposures of the AIF and the five most important portfolio concentrations (Section III, Question 63).
  • The procedure for the first reporting on AIFs should be the same procedure as for the first reporting on AIFMs (Section III, Question 64).
  • When calculating their exposure under the commitment approach, AIFMs should take into account the absolute values of all the positions of their AIFs. For derivative instruments, AIFMs should convert each position into an equivalent position in the underlying assets using the methodologies set out in the implementing Regulation (Section VII, Question 5).

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.