Jurisdictional Variances for AIFMD Annex IV Reporting

There is a variety of different reporting jurisdictions based on AIFM domiciles, which can create confusion and difficulty when submitting reports due to the different formats accepted and variation in submission portals. On top of that, some jurisdictions have different deadlines – meaning, if you are a manager that files to more than one jurisdiction, you may have two slightly different deadline dates and are therefore at risk of missing one.

In the below article, we’ll look at some common jurisdictions and give details on the submission formats accepted, submission dates and any other relevant information. The most common jurisdictions filed to (based off of the ESMA register) include the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, Germany and Spain. Less-common jurisdictions include Bulgaria, Portugal and Slovenia.

The most common jurisdiction to which AIFMD is filed is the United Kingdom. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), formed in 2013, is the regulator involved in the UK’s filing. It often releases publications to illustrate any changes to the submission process or to outline common errors seen across AIFMs. GABRIEL is the filing system used by the FCA, and submission is in the form of a v1.2 XML. The naming conventions for UK filings are fairly simple, with the AIFM file being called AIF001 and the AIF file called AIF002. In terms of deadlines, the FCA allows one calendar month (or the following business day if this falls on a weekend) and 45 days for fund of funds. SS&C is a registered with the FCA as an independent software vendor.

The second most common jurisdiction to which AIFMD is filed is France, where the regulator is the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The filing system used here is called GECO and, like the FCA, it accepts submission in XML v1.2 format. Unlike the FCA, submission to the AMF requires more complicated naming conventions: An AIFMD identifier is used, followed by either DATMAN for the AIFM or DATAIF for the AIF, then followed by the upload instance, and finally the year of upload. The AMF does not currently allow system-to-system submission via ISVs, but it does allow for secure FTP upload as an alternative to the XML upload on GECO. The deadline for submission to the AMF is one calendar month.

When filing to Luxembourg, the regulator responsible is the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF). The CSSF uses two electronic filing systems: E-File from FundSquare (a subsidiary of Bourse Group) and SOFiE SORT – ATLAS from the CETRELSecurities S.A. The CSSF allows one calendar month and 45-days for fund of funds like the FCA; however, they do not allow an additional business day if this deadline falls on a weekend. The CSSF also accepts submission in XML v1.2 format, and the only way to submit is via the electronic filing systems (no FTP or direct connectivity is available). Submission requires very specific naming conventions using national codes allocated by the CSSF for both the manager and the fund. This means if you are filing to the AMF and CSSF two different but very specific naming conventions will need to be used.

Another regulator that is commonly filed to is the German regulator BaFin. The filing system used is the BaFin internal portal and, like the CSSF, XML file transmission is the only means of submission. The deadline for filing to BaFin is one calendar month or 45 days for fund of funds. As with the CSSF, no additional business days are given if this falls on a weekend. Again, a v1.2 XML is the accepted submission format and the naming conventions are specific, though simpler than the CSSF or AMF. For AIFMs, the name will be “AIFM_” followed by free text, and for AIFs this will be “AIF_” followed by free text. A key thing to note with the BaFin submission is that processing can take a few days, so being proactive and filing before the deadline can help to avoid any confusion around late submissions due to processing time.

As evidenced above, most jurisdictions accept v1.2 XML as the method of submission. However, there are some exceptions to this rule, which can again make submission more onerous for managers filing to multiple jurisdictions – for example, Hungary requires the data to be submitted in CAP or ERA format.

There are numerous other jurisdictions that can be filed to with their own set of rules (see appendix for a more extensive list), and keeping on top of these is crucial. SS&C has a strong understanding and relationships with most regulators and can help you to ensure all your filing requirements are met.

Appendix