Some weeks ago, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) issued the circular 18/698 (replacing circular 12/546) defining the conditions to obtain and maintain the authorisation for Investment Fund Managers (IFM) under Luxembourg law. Presented in one single extensive document, the circular clarifies authorisation terms linked to shareholder structure, own fund requirements, IFMs management bodies, arrangements concerning the central administration and governance, and delegation rules. Similarly, it introduces specific provisions (or clauses) on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing applicable to IFMs and entities carrying out the activity of registrar and transfer agent.
The circular is composed of nine parts and three annexes that you can check here. It entered into force on 23 August 2018 and is relevant to Mancos of UCITS (so-called chapter 15 Mancos), licenced AIFMs, Mancos of UCIs (so-called chapter 16 Mancos) and other entities such as self-managed SICAVs and internally managed AIFs. The circular calls for IFMs and companies applying to any IFM authorisation to undergo a thorough content analysis and a serious consideration of the new Circular 18/698’s requirements.
This blog article is video-based. Olivier Carré and Xavier Balthazar, both Partners in our Regulatory consulting practice, and Laurent Carême, the Observatory for Management Companies Leader, got together this week to talk about the most relevant aspects of the Circular.
Observatory for Management Companies: CSSF Circular 18/698 from PwC Luxembourg on Vimeo