ESMA issues public statement for fund managers on the deadline for publication of annual reports

On 9 April, ESMA issued a public statement for fund managers in relation to the deadlines for publication of their annual reports in the context of COVID-19. 

For private fund managers subject to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, (either EU-based managers or non-EU managers marketing their funds in the EU), this relates to the obligation to publish, and make available upon request, an annual report.

The deadline for publication of this report is six months after year end. For managers with a year end of 31 December, the deadline is 30 June.  For these managers, ESMA has provided a period of relief of two months. For managers whose year end is after 1 April but before 1 May, ESMA has indicated a one month period of relief.

A few points to bear in mind:

• This statement doesn’t provide the relief directly but is guidance for national regulators to not take  enforcement action.
• If managers do not publish the report within the original time frame, they should notify their national regulator and investors. As such, the relief comes with certain conditions.
• The statement doesn’t relate to Annex IV reporting, so these deadlines still apply at the moment.