AIFMD: Back to basics on scope and marketing following the Commission's Q&A and the FCA'S CP13/9

In some ways it is surprising that four years on from the first appearance of the draft of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (the "Directive") and only weeks away from its national transposition across EU member states, we find ourselves publishing a briefing addressing those two most fundamental of questions: (i) who and what is in scope and (ii) how does the Directive affect the marketing of funds - the very same questions we asked back in April 2009.

Nonetheless, these are the questions that our briefing addresses, triggered by the publication by the European Commission (the "Commission") of its Q&A on the AIFMD (the "Q&A") and by the Financial Services Authority (now the Financial Conduct Authority) of its much anticipated CP13/9, Part 2 of the consultation on the implementation of the Directive in the UK (''CP2'') and, in particular, the draft amendments to the Perimeter Guidance Manual (''PERG'') contained within it.

Of course both CP2 and the Q&A address matters other than scope and marketing (outlined, but not detailed, in Part 1 of the briefing) but as asset managers (and their alternative investment fund managers ("AIFMs") in particular) ready themselves for implementation, the vast majority of the questions we are asked are on scope and marketing (addressed in Parts 2 and 3 of the briefing respectively).  Increasingly we are being asked about the remuneration aspects (on which there is little to add to our previous briefing on the subject, available here, but on which further information will be available following the FCA's pending consultation paper on the topic).

It is our intention that this briefing serves as a reference point which asset managers can refer to as they bring their implementation plans together, or use to assess their implementation plans against. We hope this briefing also serves to inform reader responses to CP2. Responses are due on 10 May 2013.