In light of continual struggles from European fund managers to comply with the impending AIFMD directive, Nicola Smith, chief executive of hedge fund administrator Helvetic, says that plans by the European Commission to introduce liquidity buffers and leverage caps on financial firms have come at the most inopportune time.
Smith (pictured) states the managers and service providers need to focus their efforts on the implementation of AIFM passports, and therefore require the support of the European institutions, and clear guidance from national regulators, to do so.
“The lack of detailed information, combined with the delays from ESMA, has already lead to uncertainty and turbulence amongst EU based funds over the implementation of AIFMD,” says Smith. “In order to become compliant, fund managers have been tasked with gathering and reporting large volumes of information without having the necessary reporting tools such, as forms and formats available. This latest news from the EU, requesting the need for further regulation, will only serve to cause more confusion.
“The real concern in all of this is a large amount of fund managers are still unsure about the requirements of AIFMD and have not fully understood what is needed.
“What is needed from the EC is transparency. A leaked report only causes more confusion and panic – by having a clear and transparent set of regulatory proposals, hedge funds will know exactly what is needed of them, providing much greater clarity.”
