Regulatory Alerts2020-02-05
Regulations amending Finansinspektionen’s regulations regarding alternative investment fund managers
Finansinspektionen issued regulations amending its rules on alternative investment fund managers to impose new disclosure requirements for special funds. The amendments mandate that annual reports include specific information on investment strategy, turnover costs, proxy advisor usage, securities lending policies, and conflict of interest management when institutional investors hold EEA shares. These requirements apply to annual reports submitted starting in 2020, provided the information is not already publicly available.
Finansinspektionen’s Regulatory Code Publisher: Finansinspektionen, Sweden, www.fi.se ISSN 1102-7460 This translation is furnished solely for information purposes. Only the printed version of the regulation in Swedish applies for the application of the law. 1 Regulations amending Finansinspektionen’s regulations (FFFS 2013:10) regarding alternative investment fund managers; decided on 18 June 2019. Finansinspektionen prescribes1 pursuant to section 5, point 14 of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Ordinance (2013:587) that a new section shall be inserted into Finansinspektionen’s regulations (FFFS 2013:10) regarding alternative investment fund managers, Chapter 12, section 15, and a new heading inserted immediately preceding Chapter 12, section 15 with the following wording. Chapter 12 Information requirements for some special funds Section 15 If an institutional investor as referred to in Article 2 of Directive 2007/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the exercise of certain rights of shareholders in listed companies, as worded according to Directive (EU) 2017/828 of the European Parliament and of the Council, has invested in a special fund and the special fund’s assets are placed in shares admitted for trading on a regulated market and that have been issued by a company within the EEA, the annual report – in addition to that set out in sections 13 and 14 – with regard to such shares shall contain information on
- how the fund’s investment strategy contributes to the performance of its assets in the mid- to long-term,
- the turnover costs of the fund,
- the use of proxy advisors for the purpose of engagement in the companies that issued the shares included in the fund,
- policies on securities lending and how these are applied to fulfil the involvement, where applicable, in particular at general meetings in the companies that issued the shares included in the fund, and
- Whether any conflicts of interest have arisen in conjunction with the investment and, if yes, how they have been handled. 1 Cf. Directive 2007/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the exercise of certain rights of shareholders in listed companies, as worded according to Directive (EU) 2017/828 of the European Parliament and of the Council. FFFS 2019:16 Published 25 June 2019
FFFS 2019:16 2 If the information is available for the public, it does not need to be included in the report.
These regulations shall enter into force on 25 June 2019 and apply for the first time to the annual report submitted in 2020. ERIK THEDÉEN Agneta Blomquist