Possible Changes To The AIFM Directive For Venture Capital

Introduction

Many U.S. managers of alternative investment funds are aware of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (the Directive), which will require some managers to become authorised under the Directive and others to comply with discrete parts of the Directive. The Directive establishes an EU-wide regulatory regime for managers of alternative investment funds. 

The text of the Directive was approved by the European Parliament in November 2010, with no specific carve-outs for managers of venture capital funds.

On June 15, 2011, an EU consultation paper was published that, for the first time, suggested that a more light‑touch regime may be appropriate for managers of venture capital funds.