ESMA Consultation Paper - Guidelines on performance fees in UCITS

16 July 2019

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today launched a public consultation on draft guidelines on performance fees under the Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive. The proposed guidelines follow a mapping exercise ESMA conducted in 2018 among national competent authorities (NCAs), which analysed the current national practices for key aspects of performance fees and found a lack of harmonisation among EU jurisdictions.

The draft guidelines aim to harmonise the way in which performance fees can be charged to the UCITS and its investors while ensuring common standards of disclosure. ESMA is seeking stakeholders’ feedback on the proposals made in a number of areas as well as on whether the principles set out in the guidelines should also be applied to Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) marketed to retail investors.

The industry Asset Management Regulation Working Group will lead the development of an industry response to this consultation. The deadline ESMA has set for responses to this consultation is 31 October 2019.