New Asset Management Regime proposal

The Portuguese financial markets supervisory authority, CMVM, launched until the 28th of February a public consultation on the proposal for a new asset management regime (AMR).

The AMR proposal intends to harmonise and review the collective investment undertakings and the venture capital legal regimes, creating a single framework for the asset management sector and simplifying its regulation.

The AMR proposal frames in one legal act the regulation of the asset management sector, including the venture capital funds and the harmonized investment funds in accordance with UCITS and AIFMD Directives.

In accordance with the version of the proposal in public consultation, there are several changes to the current regimes namely the following:

• i. Unification of the collective investment undertaking (CIU) concept and the establishment of an exemption from this regime for CIU exclusively composed by family assets. Simplification of the existing types of CIU. The proposal continues to envisage UCITS in line with the current regime but the existing types alternative investment funds (AIF) are reorganized by introducing an open type of AIF and by maintaining, due to its special characteristics, the venture capital AIF, the credits AIF and the real estate AIF. 
• ii. Simplification of the universe of management companies, by reducing the four legal types in the current regimes to two types: the CIU management companies and the venture capital companies. With the elimination of social entrepreneurship companies and of venture capital fund management companies, their activities would be pursued by the two types of management companies provided by the AMR proposal.
• iii. Distinction between large or small dimension management companies having into account the total amount of assets under management and a simplified regime for small dimension management companies.
• iv. Restructuring of authorized authorities depending on the type and dimension of management company.
• v. Simplification of regulatory procedures, namely by replacing authorization procedures by prior notices to the supervisory authority, reduction of required documentation for filing purposes and reduction of decision making deadlines.

The new AMR also transposes to the Portuguese legal framework the Delegated Directive (UE) 2021/1270 regarding ESG and the Directive (EU) 2019/1160 regarding cross-border distribution of collective investment undertakings.

Additionally, several changes are proposed, such as the possibility for AIF to issue bonds, the removal of the obligation for AIF to publish biannual reports, the simplification of the content of the annual report and the abolition of the obligation for CIU to comply with a minimum net asset value of the fund (NAVF), being only required to comply with a positive NAVF.

To access to the entire documentation of the public consultation please click here (in Portuguese).

For more information on this subject, please contact:
Miguel Silva Cordeiro
Tomás Gonçalves da Costa

Banking and Finance