ESMA publishes today a consultation paper (ESMA/2012/44) setting out future guidelines on UCITS Exchange-Traded Funds (UCITS ETFs) and other UCITS-related issues. The proposals cover both synthetic and physical UCITS ETFs and detail the obligations to come for UCITS ETFs, index-tracking UCITS, efficient portfolio management techniques, total return swaps and strategy indices for UCITS.
ESMA’s proposals therefore go wider than ETFs and cover such areas as the use of total return swaps by any UCITS, for which ESMA envisages additional obligations with respect to the collateral to be provided, or UCITS investing in strategy indices, where the requirements on eligibility of such indices have been tightened. The proposals also include placing an obligation on UCITS ETFs to use an identifier and facili-tating the ability of investors to redeem their shares, whether in the secondary market or directly with the ETF provider.
Comments to this consultation paper should be posted online, by 30 March 2012.
