Article 14a(4) of Directive 2009/65/EC (“UCITS Directive”), as amended by Directive 2014/91/EU (“UCITS V Directive”) provides that ESMA shall issue guidelines addressed to competent authorities or financial market participants concerning the application of the remuneration principles set out under Article 14b of the UCITS Directive (“UCITS Remuneration Guidelines”). This final report sets out the final text of the guidelines on remuneration policies required by the UCITS V Directive and also provides for a targeted revision of the Guidelines on sound remuneration policies under the AIFMD (ESMA/2013/232) (“AIFMD Remuneration Guidelines”), which were originally published on 3 July 2013.

This version of the advice includes the following clarifications with respect to the assessment of the Isle of Man:

• the Isle of Man underwent an assessment by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2003 and 2009 as part of the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP); and
• the self-assessment carried out by the Isle of Man Financial Services Authority in 2013 was an assisted self-assessment.

One of the key objectives of ESMA is to foster and increase supervisory convergence across NCAs. Thematic studies have been identified as a means of achieving this objective. Their aim is to review supervisory practice in the Member States, identifying good or best practices where possible. In 2016, ESMA conducted a thematic study on the operation of home and host responsibilities under AIFMD and UCITS with a view to promoting smooth operation of the EU passports for marketing and management, looking at the notification frameworks contained in the UCITS Directive and AIFMD. The findings of the thematic study form the core of this report. They are supplemented, where possible, by a number of recommendations on good supervisory practices.