There’s just two months to go until the deadline for compliance with AIFMD, the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.  And yet, things seem a little bit too quiet out there, considering that 22 July is the date that this directive comes into force for managers of Alternative Investment Funds across all 31 countries of the EEA (EU plus 3).

Ten years ago MiFID I caught conventional investment managers on the hop – they were thinking that MiFID I was intended just for the Sell Side, and that they only had to keep an eye on UCITS.  But they quickly found out that MiFID I impacted them directly as well, and that they had to be ready for its implementation in 2007.  Today, major investment managers may have to be preparing not just for the next issue of UCITS but for MiFID II and for AIFMD as well.  And specialist investment managers and hedge funds will have to be getting prepared now for AIFMD at least.

It’s possible to outsource the management of regulatory compliance, but the full responsibility for compliance still rests with the fund manager.  Providers of outsourced compliance services will therefore be expecting their fund manager-clients to be taking appropriate measures now to get their compliance ducks in a row, as those service providers are not going to take on unlimited liability on behalf of those clients.  If you’re trying to find a service provider that you can outsource your AIFMD compliance to, remember that it takes two to tango.  Alternative Investment Managers are going to need help and new tools if they are going to stand a chance of complying with AIFMD.  And that 22 July deadline is getting very close.