ASIC has entered into arrangements with the E.U.

ASIC has entered into 29 supervisory cooperation arrangements with European Union (EU) securities regulators, agreeing to help each other supervise fund managers operating across borders.

The cooperation is crucial in allowing Australian fund managers to manage and market Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) in the EU under the rules of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). An AIF includes hedge funds, private equity funds and real estate funds, among others.

ASIC negotiated the arrangements with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) – on behalf of EU regulators – and were approved by ESMA’s Board of Supervisors on 22 May this year. ASIC signed the bilateral memorandums of understanding (MOUs) on 12 July 2013. The MOUs are applicable from 22 July 2013.

ASIC Chairman Greg Medcraft said: ‘We are pleased to have these cooperation arrangements in place. They will allow Australian fund managers to manage and market alternative investment funds to professional investors in the EU under the AIFMD.

‘The MOUs set up a framework for cooperation and information sharing between ASIC and Europe. They will help us to work together with European regulators to ensure fund managers are properly supervised, here and in Europe. We look forward to strengthening our relationships with our European counterparts.’

MOUs have now been entered into with the following EU authorities:

• Autoriteit Financiële Markten (The Netherlands)
• Autorité des marchés financiers (France)
• Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (Germany)
• Central Bank of Ireland (Ireland)
• Finanzmarktaufsicht (Austria)
• Comissão do Mercado de Valores Mobiliários (Portugal)
• Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (Spain)
• Romanian National Securities Commission (Romania)
• Commissione Nazionale per le Società e la Borsa (Italy)
• Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (Luxembourg)
• Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (Cyprus)
• Czech National Bank (Czech Republic)
• Finansinspektionen (Sweden)
• Finanssivalvonta (Finland)
• Finanstilsynet (Denmark)
• Finanšu un kapitāla tirgus komisija (Latvia)
• Estonian Financial Supervision Authority (Estonia)
• Polish Financial Supervision Authority (Poland)
• Financial Conduct Authority (United Kingdom)
• Financial Supervision Commission (Bulgaria)
• Financial Services and Markets Authority (Belgium)
• Hellenic Capital Market Commission (Greece)
• Bank of Lithuania (Lithuania)
• Malta Financial Services Authority (Malta)
• Národná banka Slovenska (Slovak Republic)
• Pénzügyi Szervezetek Állami Felügyelete (Hungary)
• Fjármálaeftirlitið (Iceland)
• Finanstilsynet (Norway)
• Finanzmarktaufsicht (Liechtenstein)

Click here to view ASIC’s Memoranda of understanding home page

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