Laws and Regulations

A significant portion of financial influencers, commonly known as finfluencers, has been found to neglect proper disclosure practices when promoting products or services, according to a study conducted by the CFA Institute. The institute is now calling on investment firms that engage with these finfluencers for promotional activities to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring compliance through adequate training.

Some 40 new Eltif funds, enabling European retail investors to put their money in private markets, are understood to be in the pipeline, due to enter the market in the coming months.

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has imposed a fine of 162,500 euro on Intertrust (Luxembourg) S.à r.l., a specialist in the professional financial sector, for not adhering to its custodial duties as outlined in Luxembourg’s financial sector legislation, particularly concerning the management of non-financial assets.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (Esma), the EU’s financial markets regulator, has fined the European rating agency Scope 2.2 million euro for breaches of the Credit Rating Agencies (CRA) Regulation. The penalty is for Scope’s failure to manage conflicts of interest adequately, involving both structural and specific non-compliance issues.

Approvals of new European Long-Term Investment Funds in Luxembourg are proceeding smoothly, despite the relays with the adoption of regulatory standards for the second generation of these funds, the CSSF’s supervisor in charge of investment funds, Marco Zwick, told the Alfi conference on Tuesday.

The EU’s retail investment package will come up for a vote at the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on the evening of Wednesday, 20 March.

Eurozone finance ministers have put forth a five-year blueprint to forge a robust Capital Markets Union (CMU) in what they see as an “ambitious” move to enhance private capital flow into Europe and underpin Europe’s costly shift to a sustainable and digital economy. 

Amidst heightened regulatory scrutiny, Luxembourg’s private investment fund landscape experiences a transformative shift in valuation paradigms, a panel discussion on Wednesday made clear.

Brussels has opted to abandon the proposed establishment of a ‘European passport’ for depositary banks. While initially touted as an innovative concept, the idea was fraught with potential market challenges and risked undermining the work of supervisors. The alternative approach that has emerged now is being hailed as a success by Luxembourg banking association ABBL. 

Luxembourg’s financial regulator CSSF has updated its guidance for the crypto investment landscape, clarifying that only ‘well-informed investors’ within alternative investment funds can tread into the virtual asset territory.