AIFMD—the push for a common supervisory approach

Monica Gogna, partner in the financial services regulation team at Pinsent Masons, unpicks the latest guidance from the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) on the developing supervisory approaches to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD).

New questions have been added to ESMA’s Question and Answer (Q&A) document on the AIFMD (2011/61/EU). The questions relate to reporting to national competent authorities under AIFMD, arts 3, 24 and 42.

What is the background to the Q&A document?

According to ESMA, the aim of the Q&A is to promote common supervisory approaches and practices in the application of the AIFMD and its implementing measures. It does this by providing responses to questions posed by the general public and competent authorities in relation to the practical application of the AIFMD.

The document is aimed at competent authorities under AIFMD to ensure that, in their supervisory activities, their actions are converging along the lines of the responses adopted by ESMA. However, the answers are also designed to help alternative investment fund managers by providing clarity on how they should apply the AIFMD rules to th