Among measures to combat the economic downturn resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Brazilian Central Bank implemented additional cuts to the already record-low Selic rate. It is in this context that offshore financial products such as shares of offshore investment funds – which until recently were not very popular among most segments of Brazilian investors – started to become more well-known and became investment alternatives.
In these unprecedented times of restrictions on the movement of people, complying with the usual guidelines surrounding tax residence and avoiding the creation of taxable permanent establishments have created significant challenges and concerns across all sectors, including the international funds industry. However, in this regard, pragmatic guidance has been published by many tax authorities in line with the recommendations of the Secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Last year President Bolsonaro sanctioned the so-called Economic Freedom Act, in line with the government’s efforts to foster the overall level of economic activity in Brazil. Among other developments, it has introduced some remarkable changes to the investment funds industry. This article sheds some light on the most important changes affecting the industry.
On 1 January, new financial legislation entered into force in Switzerland, bringing significant changes to the regulatory framework applicable to financial sector participants. In particular, the Federal Financial Services Act and its implementing ordinance impose new obligations on those endeavouring to market financial products and services in Switzerland.
The Covid-19 outbreak has raised a number of questions for UK authorised fund managers relating to the operation of their UK authorised funds. Organisations’ responses to Covid-19 have also thrown into the spotlight the social aspect of sustainable investing, as the outbreak continues to test the resilience of company policies relating to measures such as working from home, sick leave and furlough.
It is a settled fact that technology is a key component of asset management. Aspects of the investment process include trading, risk management, operations and client service. Considering the quantity of information in our environment today and the importance of technology in accessing markets, every organisation that manages assets, whether it is an asset management company or an asset owner that manages its assets internally, uses technology as part of its investment process.
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has trained the regulatory spotlight on the charging of performance fees and retail funds. It has published guidelines for European regulators on requirements for performance fees in both Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities funds and retail alternative investment funds (AIFs). Its stated goal is to harmonise EU supervisory practices in the area.
Experts suggest that Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy and market with a population of 200 million people, faces tough economic times in the near future, due to its own peculiar circumstances. The situation is compounded by the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequential partial or wholesale shutdown of several of its cities and states.
The article focuses on the impact on investment funds of the European Shareholder Rights Directive II, which aims to encourage long-term shareholder engagement and increase transparency between companies and investors. It identifies the requirements imposed by the new regulation on the service providers typically involved in the operations of an investment fund, such as asset managers, institutional investors, proxy advisers and intermediaries. It also analyses some practical aspects related, for example,
The Central Bank of Ireland has, like many other regulators, sharpened its focus on investment fund liquidity during the past year for a variety of reasons.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had many consequences around the world, including in the Brazilian investment funds industry. The crisis and its important and valuable lessons provide an opportunity for re-invention: a new way of investing, a new direction for capital markets as an essential source for recovery and the beginning of a ‘new normal’.