Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra

Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra and Marco Loria analyse fresh EU guidance on ELTIF passporting, arguing it dismantles national barriers and could unlock pan-European distribution through insurance, pension and savings wrappers.

New BaFin draft guidelines clarify that investor involvement in asset-level decisions risks disqualifying a fund as an AIF under EU rules—a shift with implications far beyond Germany, writes Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra at Loyens & Loeff.

The Pan-European Pension Product (PEPP) has struggled to gain traction since its 2022 launch, but proposed reforms under “PEPP 2.0” could create significant opportunities for Luxembourg’s fund and asset management industry.

The recently enacted NPL law in Luxembourg brings critical updates to credit servicing and purchasing, writes Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra at Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg in their latest contribution as member of Investment Officer’s panel of experts.

The AIFMD 2 introduces new rules for loan-originating alternative investment funds, but uncertainties remain around the potential for a cross-border “lending passport,” writes Loyens & Loeff’s Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra, member of Investment Officer’s expert panel.

Sebastiaan Hooghiemstra at Loyens & Loeff reviews the opinion tabled by the EU’s supervisory agencies on SFDR as a possible labelling regime, and finds that the question on whether “Article 8” and “Article 9” products should be abolished, is not yet off the table.

Esma’s new guidelnies on using ESG or sustainability related terms in fund names may have massive implications for fund managers, writes Sebatiaan Hooghiemstra.

Ever since the European Securities and Markets Authority, Esma, published its final report on the draft regulatory technical standards, known as the RTS, on 19 December 2023, in particular the redemption policy, minimum holding period and mandatory liquidity management tools, or LMTs, of European Long-Term Investment Funds, or Eltifs, have been points of intense discussion.

Fund sponsors increasingly explore ways to facilitate access by retail investors to private assets. Part II UCIs have been instrumental in this development. This contribution discusses the increased success of the Part II UCI fund regime with private markets firms accessing the private wealth market.

On 19 January 2024, the Council of the European Union published the final compromise containing amendments to Directive 2009/138/EC (Solvency II). The text contains details of the modified “Long-term equity investments” (LTE) sub-model (with a favourable 22% capital charge) and a specific treatment for Eltifs and other “low risk” AIFs. This contribution sheds some light on the implications of these amendments for insurers in the fund context.