What’s the Alternative? An Overview of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive from a Guernsey Perspective
Sam Shires, Group Partner and Stephen Ozanne, Associate
AO HALL Advocates
May 2012
Introduction
The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (Directive 2011/61/EU) (AIFM Directive) sets out new rules that are being introduced in the European Union (EU) in respect of the authorisation, operation, and ongoing reporting for managers of alternative investment funds (AIFMs) which manage and/or market alternative investment funds (AIFs) in the various member-state countries of the EU.
After approximately 18 months of negotiations and considerable debate between the European Commission, European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament voted through the AIFM Directive on 11 November 2010. The text of the AIFM Directive was later published in the Official Journal of the EU on 1 July 2011 and commenced to be enforced on 21 July 2011. However, from an offshore perspective, the way in which the AIFM Directive will actually be implemented is yet to be seen. EU directives, unlike EU regulations, set out certain results that must be achieved by each EU member-state. It is then for each member-state to implement their own legislation to give effect to the directive. This gives member-states a degree of leeway as to how the directive can be implemented in their respective jurisdictions, which can result in different member-states having slightly different rules.
