User:16912 Rhiannon/ AIFMD Marketing and the AIFMD passport

Marketing and the AIFMD passport
For the purposes of the directive, marketing is defined as any offering or placement (sale) of an AIF at the initiative of the AIFM, or on behalf of the AIFM, to investors domiciled in the EU. Member state laws and rules determine whether a fund is engaged in marketing for purposes of the directive.

EU funds managed by EU managers may be marketed across the EU under the AIFMD passport, provided the manager complies with all of the requirements of the directive. EU or non-EU funds managed by non-EU managers may currently be marketed within the EU only under national private placement regimes, as non-EU managers cannot obtain the marketing passport. Likewise, non-EU funds managed by EU managers may only be marketed under the private placement regimes. Funds marketed under national private placement regimes are subject to compliance with certain provisions of the AIFMD related to reporting, regulatory cooperation agreements, and the jurisdiction of the fund and the manager not being listed as a "non-cooperative country and territory" by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In 2015, an analyst for EurActiv.com, a European news and policy website, expressed concern that the directive puts non-EU funds at a disadvantage. In 2015, the European Securities and Markets Authority initiated a consultation to discuss issuing new rules to allow EU AIFMs to market their non-EU AIFs under the AIFMD passport, and likewise for non-EU managers to market their funds under the AIFMD passport.

In a study conducted by Multifonds in June 2014, 72% of respondents from the EU and Canada said they expected non-EU managers to set up European operations in order to take advantage of AIFMD. In a 2014 study conducted by Preqin, 71% of American fund managers said they believed the AIFMD would have a negative effect on the industry. Fund managers from within the EU, Asia and the rest of the world excluding the United States reported in 2014 and 2015 that the AIFMD was costing them more than they had expected it to. Criticism of the costs of the legislation comes partly from industry lobbyists.