The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive – what every Compliance Officer needs to know

Unless you are a hedge fund manager it may be that you have avoided any consideration of the draft Directive. Think again! says Duncan Black of Field Fisher Waterhouse. The likelihood is your business would be affected in some way by the proposals as they currently stand – and your colleagues may begin asking you about it. Here, for the disinterested observer, is what you should know.

Duncan Black (+44 (0)20 7861 4926, duncan.black@ffw.com) is a partner at Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP specialising in financial services regulatory matters and disputes.

What is the draft Directive aiming to do?

The Directive proposes a tough and interventionist approach to regulating most aspects of Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) based in the EU. Whilst funds themselves – many of which are based outside the EU in offshore locations – are not regulated, their managers, including the hundreds of managers based in London, will be.