On 2 August 2021, most of the provisions of the EU Cross-Border Distribution of Funds (CBDF) legislation come into effect.  The CBDF legislation, designed to reduce barriers to the cross-border marketing and sale of funds, includes a Directive amending both the UCITS Directive and AIFMD and a directly effective EU Regulation which will be supplemented by ESMA Level 3 guidelines.

In this briefing we analyse six key impacts of the CBDF legislation and ESMA Level 3 guidelines on fund managers’ existing marketing operations and processes:

1. an end to physical local facilities
2. protracted UCITS process for changes post-passporting 
3. enhanced marketing disclosure requirements 
4. new harmonised procedure for ceasing to market UCITS or AIFs 
5. pre-marketing of AIFs permitted
6. limited benefit for non-EU AIFMs