Dillon Eustace: UCITS Alert – UCITS V Update

Following the trilogue negotiations among the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Commission, agreement was reached in relation to the European Commission’s set of proposals to strengthen the rules for undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (“UCITS”).

This concluded the negotiations in relation to the draft UCITS V proposals which were originally put forward by the European Commission in July 2012 with the aim of addressing lessons learned from the financial crisis, most notably in connection with the Madoff fraud and the Lehman Brothers default which revealed material divergences in rules on depositary duties and liabilities across EU member states. The new rules are designed to significantly increase the level of protection enjoyed by UCITS investors and are seen as a key step towards restoring investor confidence in the wake of the financial crisis.

UCITS V focuses on three main areas, namely, (i) clarification of the UCITS depositary’s eligibility, its functions and its liability in circumstances where assets in custody are lost; (ii) rules governing remuneration policies; and (iii) the harmonisation of the minimum administrative sanctions regime across Member States.

It is expected that the final UCITS V Directive will be published in the Official Journal shortly. Member States will then have eighteen months from the date of publication to transpose the Directive into their domestic laws, during which time it is expected that implementing measures providing greater clarity on certain provisions of UCITS V will be issued.

To read full update see this link:
UCITS V Update

With compliments of the Dillon Eustace Publications Team; Dillon Eustace is a EACCNY member