MFSA Circular on changes to the Investment Services Rules

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On August 4th 2015 the MFSA published a revised version of Annex 5 to Appendix 13 of Part B III of the Investment Services Rules for Investment Services Providers which qualify as AIFMs in terms of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”).

Part B III of the Investment Services Rules for Investment Services Providers applies to Investment Services License Holders which provide services in terms of the AIFMD, and thus does not apply to Investment Services License Holders which qualify as MiFID Firms, UCITS Fund Managers, or Custodians.

Appendix 13 deals with Transparency Requirements. As per Section 4.04 of Appendix 13, the License Holder shall, on request provide the MFSA with an annual report of each EU AIF managed by the license holder and of each AIF marketed by it in the European Union, for each financial year in accordance with the Investment Services Rules. The license holder must also provide a detailed list of all AIFs which it manages, for the end of each quarter. In addition to complying with this section, the license holder shall submit to the MFSA the information prescribed in Annex 5.

The purpose of the amendment is for the MFSA to collate the necessary information required by the AIFMD, in particular Articles 3(3) and 24(3). The changes to Annex 5 appear to be driven by the need for the inclusion of further details on the AIFs managed by de minimis & full scope AIFMs. The changes include:

  1. The removal of the columns ‘AIF Type’, ‘NAV’ and ‘EU AIF’; and
  2. The inclusion of the columns ‘AIF Management Status’, ‘Assets Under Management’, ‘AIF Domicile’ and ‘Jurisdiction(s) in which AIF is Marketed’.

 

The information is mandatory for full scope AIFMs as well as de minimis AIFMs. Full Scope AIFMs are required to submit Annex 5 on a quarterly basis (i.e. as at March 31st, June 30th, September 30th, and December 31st) while De Minimis AIFMs are required to submit Annex 5 on a half-yearly basis (i.e. as at June 30th and December 31st). All AIFMs are required to submit Annex 5 within one month from the end of the reporting period concerned. Responsibility for the timely submission of the form prescribed in Annex 5 rests with the AIFM.