Consultation on Guidelines on key concepts of the AIFMD

On 23 February 2012, ESMA published a discussion paper on key concepts of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and types of AIFM (ESMA/2012/117) which covered a number of topics relevant inter alia for the development of the draft regulatory technical standards (RTS) that ESMA shall develop under Article 4(4) of the AIFMD. A separate consultation paper on draft RTS on types of AIFMs (ESMA/2012/844) sets out formal proposals for the draft RTS. This consultation paper follows up on some of the other topics covered by the discussion paper published last February which are not covered by the consultation on draft RTS on types of AIFMs and which ESMA considers essential to a common understanding of the entities captured by the AIFMD and a consistent application of its provisions throughout Europe. For this reason, this paper sets out formal proposals for guidelines ensuring common, uniform and consistent application of the concepts in the definition of ‘AIF’ in Article 4(1)(a) of the AIFMD by providing clarification on each of these concepts. For the residual topics covered by the discussion paper published last February which are neither covered in the consultation paper on draft RTS on types of AIFMs (ESMA/2012/844) nor in this consultation paper, ESMA will consider at a later stage, also in the light of the final AIFMD Level 2 text, whether any of them may merit the development of further guidelines or other convergence tools (e.g. Q&A).