EU long-term funds technical guidance delayed

The EU securities regulator has announced a delay in the finalisation of technical guidance for European Long-Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs) – a fund structure that has seen little uptake since its launch in 2015. 

ELTIFs are a fund structure created by the European Commission to facilitate long-term investment into companies in the real economy, such as infrastructure.   

But, there are only a handful of ELTIFs according to industry experts, the latest being a private equity ELTIF launched by BlackRock in September.

In comparison, there are 306 European Venture Capital Funds (EuVECA) – a fund structure created at the same time as ELTIF as part of the EU Capital Markets Union project aiming to harmonise cross-border investment. 

While the European Securities and Market Authority (ESMA) publishes a register of the 306 EuVECA funds, there is no register for ELTIFs. 

Earlier in the year, an ESMA spokesman told RI: “I’m afraid we would not have such information. In terms of oversight, it is national supervisors which are competent for authorising and supervising ELTIFs in their jurisdiction, ESMA does not have any supervisory role in this area.”

Today, ESMA has published the final report on the introduction of draft “Regulatory Technical Standards” – or RTS – for ELTIFS relating to costs disclosures to retail investors, after a six month consultation. 

It has decided to postpone the finalisation of draft RTS until regulation on cost disclosures under the Package Retail and Insurance-based Investment Product (PRIIPs) are revised. 

Observers say this is a matter of sequencing to ensure technical guidance on cost disclosures under ELTIF align with those under PRIIPS regulation. 

ESMA has said that once the PRIIPS revision is finalised, it will assess the most appropriate way forward, mooting further consultation. 

It comes as activity in the ELTIF market has upped slightly this year; alongside BlackRock, fund managers Eurizon and Muzinch also launched their first ELTIFs this year.

France-based lending platform October also has two ELTIF products according to its website.