AIMA

Cayman Islands

On 14 January 2013, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) issued a corporate governance consultation paper (the "CP") which sets out certain proposals for enhancing the Cayman Islands' corporate governance regulatory framework. The CIMA state that in light of the developments emanating from international organisations and global national developments, they consider “the modernising of the corporate governance standards in the Cayman Islands financial services sector necessary and beneficial to the continued international standing of the jurisdiction”. The CP seeks input from Cayman Islands financial industry associations and other interested stakeholders on the CIMA proposal which aim to develop the specific corporate governance requirements and to provide greater transparency for stakeholders.

Consultation documents

CIMA corporate governance survey participation form (February 2013)

Consultation paper: corporate governance and Appendix to consultation paper (January 2013)

AIMA documents

Response to corporate governance consultation (March 2013)

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Switzerland

Regulation of asset managers in Switzerland is governed by the Collective Investment Schemes Act of 23 June 2006 (the ‘CISA’), which came into force on 1 January 2007. The CISA aims to protect investors and to ensure transparency and the proper functioning of the market for collective investment schemes (‘CIS’).

The Swiss Federal Council (the ‘SFC’) launched a consultation on the partial revision of the CISA on 6 July 2011, which was open for comment until 7 October 2011.

The SFC were concerned that the supervision of custodian banks is currently inadequate and that the rules on distribution to investors need strengthening. The current Swiss regulatory regime also only subjects asset managers of Swiss CIS to mandatory supervision by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ('FINMA'). The SFC therefore requested opinions in relation to matters such as:

• whether there should be mandatory authorisation and supervision by FINMA of all Swiss asset managers, including those which manage foreign CIS;
• the need for additional requirements relating to custody; and
• the need for new requirements in relation to distribution of CIS to the public and to qualified investors.

The intention of the revision of the CISA was to close the regulatory gaps identified by the SFC and to align the provisions relating to the management, custody and distribution of CIS with international standards, in particular the European Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (the ‘AIFMD’) and the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive (‘UCITS’).

On 2 March 2012, the SFC approved its draft text of the revised CISA, which was then sent to the Swiss Parliament for consideration. This draft was intensively debated and substantially amended by the Swiss Parliament in the summer of 2012. A number of the revised CISA provisions will have a significant impact on the funds industry.

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Key legislative documents

Revised CISA text - German and French (28 September 2012)

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Consultation documents

Consultation on revision of the Collective Investment Schemes Act (July 2011)

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AIMA documents

Swiss Collective Investment Scheme Act Revision – AIMA Update Note (June 2012)

Response to consultation on revision of the Collective Investment Schemes Act (October 2011)

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Other resources

AIMA Noticeboard