Nieuws Asset Management

On 19 April 2012, the Dutch Government submitted to Parliament the legislative Act a proposal for the implementation of Directive 2011/61/EU on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (the “AIFMD”) in the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision (the “AFS”). After having been adopted by the Second Chamber, the bill was submitted to the Senate on 2 October 2012, and adopted by the Senate on 11 June 2013.

The Senate’s approval has taken significantly more time than was expected. This is due to the fact that the Second Chamber amended the bill. Pursuant to this amendment, managers of AIFs in which only pension funds may invest would not fall within the scope of the new legislation. Minister of Finance De Jager sent a letter to the Dutch Parliament, in which he explicitly advised against adoption of the amendment. Also, the Authority for the Financial Markets (“AFM”) and the Central Bank opposed the amendment.
The Ministry of Finance thereupon consulted the European Commission on the amendment. The European Commission considered that under article 2(3)(b) of the AIFMD only the following categories are exempted from the Directive:

(i) Institutions for Occupational Retirement provisions, (“IORPs”);

(ii) authorized entities responsible for managing IORPs and acting on their behalf, provided they are listed in article 2(1) of the MiFID and provided they do not manage one or more AIFs; and

(iii) investment managers appointed pursuant article 19(1) of the MiFID, provided they do not manage one or more AIFs.

The bill was thereupon amended again, whereby the exemption was deleted.
Our FMLA Client Memo concerning the implementation of the AIFMD can be downloaded below.

AIFMD_NewsUpdate

ESMA approved co-operation agreements between securities regulators from the 27 EU Member States, Croatia and the European Economic Area (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) and 34 third-country regulators, for example Cayman Islands. It must be mentioned that the agreements are bilateral and therefore must be signed between each EU securities regulator and the non-EU authorities. The actual supervision of AIFMs lies with the national securities regulators, therefore each authority decides with which non-EU authorities it will sign a MoU (Memoranda of Understanding).

The key elements of the cooperation arrangements are:

-EU and non-EU authorities will be able to supervise fund managers that operate on a cross-border basis both within the EU and outside;

-The co-operation between authorities includes the exchange of information, cross-border on-site visits and assistance in the enforcement of the respective laws;

-EU securities regulators will be able to share relevant information received from non-EU authorities with other EU authorities, ESMA and the European Systemic Risk Board, provided appropriate safeguards apply;

-The existence of co-operation arrangements between the EU and non-EU authorities is a precondition of the AIFMD for allowing managers based outside the EU to access EU markets or perform fund management by delegation from EU managers; and

-The co-operation arrangements are applicable from 22 July 2013 and enable cross-border management and marketing to professional investors of alternative investment funds.

 

2013-629_esma_promotes_global_supervisory_co-operation_on_alternative_funds_30_may_2013_0

 

Source:

http://www.esma.europa.eu/system/files/2013-629_esma_promotes_global_supervisory_co-operation_on_alternative_funds_30_may_2013_0.pdf

 

 

Staatssecretaris Klijnsma heeft de Tweede Kamer per brief van 21 november 2012 geïnformeerd dat de invoering van een nieuw financieel toetsingskader pensioenen (FTK) met één jaar wordt uitgesteld.

Staatssecretaris Klijnsma heeft de Tweede Kamer per brief van 21 november 2012 geïnformeerd dat de invoering van een nieuw financieel toetsingskader pensioenen (FTK) met één jaar wordt uitgesteld. De reden is de complexiteit van de uitwerking van de nieuwe wetgeving en dan met name op het punt van het invaren van oude pensioenaanspraken en pensioenrechten in het nieuwe FTK. Daarom gaat de staatssecretaris nu uit van een nieuw FTK per 1 januari 2015 (i.p.v. per 1 januari 2014). Het streven is om de nieuwe wetgeving voor het kerstreces van 2013 aan de Tweede Kamer aan te bieden. De eveneens dit jaar aangekondigde fiscale wijzigingen (de aanpassingen van het Witteveenkader) gaan wel gewoon door per 1 januari 2014, net als de aanpassingen in de AOW. Daarnaast zal per 1 januari 2013 het “Septempakket Pensioenen” in werking treden. Dit pakket aan maatregelen loopt vooruit op het nieuwe FTK en is afgestemd met de Nederlandsche Bank (DNB). Het pakket omvat de volgende maatregelen. 1. Aanpassing rekenrente voor pensioenfondsen In overleg met DNB is besloten om de rentecurve voor zeer lang lopende verplichtingen (over 20 tot 60 jaar) aan te passen en in overeenstemming te brengen met de methode die vanaf 30 juni 2012 al voor verzekeraars geldt. Deze aangepaste methode (waarin een “ultimate forward rate” is verwerkt) maakt de rente minder gevoelig voor schommelingen op de financiële markten. 2. Adempauze voor eis dat premie moet bijdragen aan herstel Pensioenfondsen met een dekkingstekort krijgen in 2013 de mogelijkheid om éénmalig af te wijken van de wettelijke eis dat de pensioenpremie moet bijdragen aan herstel. 3. Voorwaardelijke mogelijkheid om verlaging pensioenen te spreiden Pensioenfondsen krijgen de mogelijkheid om verlagingen van pensioenen over meerdere jaren te spreiden en te beperken tot maximaal 7% per jaar. 4. Aanpassen pensioenregelingen per 1 januari 2013 Aan de (onder 3 genoemde) mogelijkheid om de verlaging van de pensioenen te spreiden, wordt wel de voorwaarde verbonden dat pensioenfondsen de pensioenregelingen per 1 januari 2013 zullen aanpassen. Doel van deze aanpassing is om de pensioenregelingen alvast toekomstbestendiger te maken. Volgens het kabinet gaat het om de volgende aanpassingen. a. De in de pensioenregeling opgenomen pensioenrichtleeftijd (die in 2014 van 65 naar 67 jaar zou worden verhoogd), wordt in 2013 al verhoogd naar 67 jaar; b. Verdere stijging van de levensverwachting wordt ten laste gebracht van de pensioenen en de opgebouwde aanspraken; c. Bij het indexatiebeleid wordt vooruitgelopen op het nieuwe FTK. Dat betekent dat pensioenfondsen de pensioenen pas mogen verhogen als de dekkingsgraad boven de 110% komt (i.p.v. de huidige 105%).

 

Bron: http://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten-en-publicaties/kamerstukken/2012/11/21/kamerbrief-uitstel-nieuw-financieel-toetsingskader-pensioenen.html?ns_campaign=documenten-en-publicaties-over-het-onderwerp-pensioen&ns_channel=att

On 2 October 2012 the Dutch Lower House adopted the Dutch legislative proposal implementing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) in Dutch law. As a result of that proposal, a very large number of currently exempted fund managers will become subject to supervision.

The bill (the “Bill”) implementing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive in the Netherlands was put before the Dutch Parliament on 19 April 2012. The Bill introduces a licensing requirement for Netherlands-based managers of one or more “alternative investment funds” (“AIFs”), being any collective investment scheme that is not subject to authorisation under the European Directive regulating Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (“UCITS”). As a result of the Bill, nearly all existing Dutch exemptions (€100,000 exemption, “qualified investors only” exemption, less than 150 offerees exemption) will be repealed. AIF managers (or self-managed AIFs) currently relying on these exemptions will require a license. In addition, currently licensed AIF managers and self-managed AIFs will need to obtain a new license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (“AFM”). The Bill also introduces a large number of amendments to the current Dutch framework for (managers of) non-UCITS these licensed collective investment schemes, including: (i) new rules on “depositaries”; (ii) changes in outsourcing rules; (iii) new (ongoing and incidental) reporting requirements; (iv) new investor disclosure requirements; (v) new governance and organisational requirements (risk management, liquidity, valuation, etc.); and (vi) new remuneration rules. Amendment of MP Huizing The Lower House further adopted an amendment which was submitted by the Member of Parliament Huizing. Pursuant to this amendment, managers of AIFS in which only pension funds invest do not fall within the scope of the Bill. Prior to the vote on the amendment, Minister of Finance De Jager sent a letter to the Lower House, in which he explicitly advised against adoption of the amendment. In that letter, the minister also quoted the position of the AFM and the Dutch Central Bank who both wish to supervise managers of pension assets. The Lower House, however, ignored the advice of the minister and adopted the amendment. Next steps After the adoption of the Bill by the Lower House, the Proposal will be sent to the Upper House. The AIFMD must be implemented in Dutch law by 22 July 2013. Newly registered managers will need to obtain a license by that date. Currently licensed managers will need to comply with the new Bill by the same date and to obtain a new license from the AFM.

Source: https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-33235

The AFM intends to take steps in order to compel retail fund managers to disclose actual costs of ownership information to retail investors.

In his speech at the recent "FD Morningstar Awards" on 4 April 2012, Theodor Kockelkoren, a director of the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (“AFM”), indicates that the AFM intends to compel retail fund managers to provide more accurate cost information to retail investors. Referring to a future report of the AFM, the AFM director also raises questions as to the suitability of synthetic Exchange Traded Funds for retail investors.

Under current regulations, managers are required to disclose “total expense ratio” (“TER”) information concerning their funds. However, according to Mr. Kockelkoren, the TER of a fund is not a reliable figure, because it does not reflect the total costs that are actually deducted from the gross return on a fund investment. Furthermore, he believes that not all fund managers include the same (types of) costs in the TER, making it unsuitable for fund performance comparison purposes. In order to address these issues, the AFM intends to use its powers to compel fund managers to disclose “total cost of ownership” information instead of the TER, unless the sector does so proactively.

The titel of the speech was: “Op weg naar de KNVB beker!” (“Towards the KNVB award!”). In Dutch, “KNVB” stands for cost-efficiency, purpose, safety and understandability in relation to financial products. In his speech, Theodor Kockelkoren hints at a “KNVB award”, which would reward the ‘best’ investment fund on the basis of these criteria.

 

Bron: Speech "FD Morningstar Awards"

>ESMA publishes input received from stakeholders following consultation on “key concepts” of the AIFM Directive, clarifying the scope and interpretation of the Directive

On 27 March 2012, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published responses to its consultation on "key concepts" of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”). The discussion paper to which stakeholders so responded contained ESMA’s draft policy approach concerning the interpretation of certain key aspects of the AIFMD, namely:

(a) the range of functions that an Alternative Investment Fund Manager (“AIFM”) must carry out in accordance with the AIFMD;

(b) the criteria based on which national competent authorities can determine whether or not an entity falls under the scope of the definition of “Alternative Investment Fund” (“AIF”) under the AIFMD;

(c) the interrelation between the AIFMD and the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive, e.g. which services may entities that are authorised under one of these directives provide under the other; and

(d) clarification concerning the treatment of authorised “investment firms” and “banks” under the AIFMD, in particular the fact that these types of entities may not be authorised under the AIFMD.

In light of the feedback received, ESMA will now develop formal proposals for draft regulatory technical standards, which will be submitted to the market by means of a consultation paper. The results of that public consultation will be used by ESMA in finalising the draft regulatory technical standards to be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement by the end of 2012.