AIMA

08 October 2009

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) – the global hedge fund industry association – has signalled a new phase of engagement with European policymakers on the European Commission’s draft Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers.

Andrew Baker, CEO of AIMA, said: “There is now a broad consensus among European policymakers that the Directive does need a lot of work and that there will be significant revisions. The question of course, is what will replace what is currently in the draft Directive. As the global hedge fund industry association, representing not only managers but investors and service providers, we believe we can provide useful technical assistance in this respect.”

The move comes as AIMA publishes its Position Paper (and Executive Summary) on the Directive and issues a newsletter for European policymakers (all available on AIMA’s website).

AIMA welcomes the parts of the Directive which relate to the G20 process, such as the reporting of systemically relevant data by managers to their national supervisors in the interests of financial stability, and the registration and authorisation of managers. But AIMA has argued that there are other elements of the Directive - such as those relating to leverage, depositaries and marketing among others - which have been poorly drafted and which will have many unintended and potentially damaging consequences.

AIMA has a long tradition of working very closely with regulators and policymakers around the world to achieve effective industry regulation that serves the needs of both regulators and the industry. 

Andrew Baker added: “We think that the directive should focus on the three key issues of registration and authorisation; reporting of systemically relevant data; and a workable passport. If it did so then it would create a progressive framework for the industry within the European Union to operate that addresses the concerns raised about systemic risk issues. We also think it’s important that the policymakers looking at the Directive take their time to ensure that it’s properly thought through and are informed by a European-wide impact assessment.”
 

- Ends -
 

For media enquiries, please contact Christen Thomson, AIMA Director of Communications, on +44 (0)20 7822 8380; email – cthomson@aima.org

Editors’ Notes

Links to documents

AIMA newsletter for European policymakers:
http://www.aima.org/filemanager/root/site_assets/directive_centre/12001_aima_eu_newsletter_autumn_2009_lowres.pdf

AIMA Position Paper:
http://www.aima.org/en/document-summary/index.cfm/docid/84F2C795-8895-4945-AED17E9521E45C60

Executive Summary of Position Paper:
http://www.aima.org/en/document-summary/index.cfm/docid/0E8C0F1B-8DAF-478F-B9C8DDF012839DF9
 
About AIMA
As the only truly representative global hedge fund association, AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has more than 1,100 corporate members worldwide, based in over 40 countries.

Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting firms and fund administrators.  They all benefit from AIMA’s active influence in policy development, its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals and its excellent reputation with regulators worldwide.

AIMA is a dynamic organisation that reflects its members’ interests and provides them with a vibrant global network. AIMA is committed to developing industry skills and education standards and is a co-founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation (CAIA) – the industry’s first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. For further information, please visit AIMA’s website, www.aima.org.

 

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