Key takeaways:

  • On Thursday, the European regulator (ESMA) published its advice on the application of the AIFMD passport to non-European fund managers.
  • ESMA’s advice considers 6 non-European jurisdictions – Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, Switzerland, Singapore and the United States – with no timeline or process for when the remaining 16 non-European jurisdictions (including the Cayman Islands) will be considered.
  • The United States ‘failed’ the ESMA assessment and ESMA has recommended that the AIFMD passport currently should not be extended to US fund managers.