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We are pleased to announce that HedgeOp Compliance, LLC (HedgeOp), the leading provider of specialised compliance software and consulting services for investment advisers in the US, has merged with The IMS Group (IMS).

A swift turnaround but will the Commission accept ESMA’s recommendations?

On 16 November 2011 the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published its final technical advice (“the ESMA Advice”) to the European Commission on the proposed rules to be contained within the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD” or “the Directive”). ESMA sent its proposals out for consultation in July and August this year and garnered more than 150 submissions in response.

With so many regulatory developments currently in train at the various institutions of the EU, some of them a response to the 2008 financial crisis, others chalked into the schedule prior to it, it can be difficult to keep track of what is happening and when. Making this task even more challenging is the fact that the legislation in question is often still in proposal form and many months (even years), consultations, negotiations and votes lie ahead.

Coping efficiently with regulatory change on a domestic and international level

Change is inevitable: the regulatory environment is no more likely to remain constant than any capital market or other economic factor. At a time when the regulatory arena is experiencing an unprecedented level of change, a healthy, proactive compliance culture is the nearest a firm can get to future-proofing its practices. It’s also the most stable platform from which to cope with regulatory change.

Wholesale change or sequel with the same cast and similar plot?

On 20 October 2011, the European Commission published its legislative proposal to revise the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (better known as “MiFID”). The proposal is divided into two parts:

After many months of discussion and divergence the EU finally reached agreement on its harmonised short selling regime on 18^th October 2011. Whilst the measures are still subject to ratification by European Parliament and Council, they are expected to come into force on 1 November 2012.

“Game done changed'' says a character early on in the third season of HBO television series The Wire. ''Game the same,'' comes the reply ''Just got more fierce''.

While the UK’s Financial Services Authority has been gaining commendable traction with insider dealing and market abuse enforcement in the last few years the authorities on the other side of the Atlantic have intensified their own efforts and approach as evidenced by the use of surreptitious wiretaps and multiple targets in the Galleon case.

The deadline for private fund managers and advisers to apply for Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) registration under Dodd-Frank (The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act) is now under 120 days. As countdown starts to 14 February 2012, when firms requiring registration must have submitted their application to meet the formal implementation deadline of 30 March, many non-US managers and advisers still appear confused to whether they require SEC registration, they cast an SEC footprint or they can escape the regulator’s scrutiny altogether.

Having had their summers ruined by volatile markets, risk managers’ working lives deteriorated even further this month following the latest induction to the rogue traders’ Hall of Fame. While few concrete details have yet entered the public domain it appears that Kweku Adoboli may have actually hinted at his worsening predicament on Facebook up to a week in advance.

After countless drafts, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD” or “the Directive”) was published in the Official Journal of the European Union (“EU”) on 1 July 2011 and came “into force” on 21 July 2011. However, rather than this represent an actual implementation date, the AIFMD process  has only reached the halfway stage (if even that).