CSSF Issues Mandatory Data Collection Exercise for SFDR and Taxonomy Regulation by
June 15, 2023
On 24 March 2023, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) released a press release requesting specific financial market participants (FMPs) to participate in a mandatory data collection exercise concerning pre-contractual product disclosure information under Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector as amended (SFDR) and Regulation (EU) 2020/852 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investment, as amended (Taxonomy Regulation). The CSSF requires certain alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs), management companies (ManCos) of undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities (UCITS) and institutions for occupational retirement provision (IORPs) to submit their data before the deadline of 15 June 2023.
The exercise aims to collect, digitally, information provided in precontractual documents issued by certain FMPs and the financial products (Financial Products) they manage that are in the scope of SFDR and Taxonomy Regulation. The CSSF clarified that the reporting shall apply to all sub-funds of AIFs, IORPs, and UCITS having adopted the umbrella structure, as well as all AIFs, IORPs, and UCITS listed above and under the scope of the SFDR and Taxonomy Regulation, subject to disclosure requirements either under Articles 6 and/or 8 or 9 of SFDR.
The scope of the exercise includes the following FMPs:
- Registered AIFMs, subject to the provisions of Article 3(3) of the law of 12 July 2013 on alternative investment fund managers, as amended (the AIFM Law), based in Luxembourg or in another Member State of the European Union, for all Luxembourg-domiciled regulated AIFs they manage;
- IORPs, subject to the law of 13 July 2005 on institutions for occupational retirement provision in the form of a SEPCAV and an ASSEP;
- UCITS ManCos, based in Luxembourg or in another Member State of the European Union, with regard to all Luxembourg-domiciled UCITS they manage;
- Authorized AIFMs, based in Luxembourg, concerning all Luxembourg-domiciled regulated and unregulated alternative investment funds (AIFs) (including European long-term investment funds – ELTIFs) they manage;
- Authorized AIFMs, based in another Member State of the European Union, in respect of all Luxembourg-domiciled regulated AIFs and Luxembourg-domiciled ELTIFs they manage.
Moreover, the CSSF emphasized that this data collection exercise may also be performed voluntarily by alternative investment fund managers that are not in the scope of the AIFM Law or benefit from an exemption in relation to all Luxembourg-domiciled regulated AIFs they manage.
The purpose of the data collection exercise is to gather precontractual information contained in the documentation of AIFs, IORPs, and UCITS in a digital and concise way, as well as more general SFDR and Taxonomy Regulation-related information. The volume and type of questions to be addressed in the reporting by FMPs are varied by the type of disclosure regime under SFDR and are part of the template pre-contractual and periodic disclosures adopted by the European Commission in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/363 of 31 October 2022.
The CSSF requires FMPs to submit their initial report to the CSSF via a structured file through S3 (Simple Storage Service) protocol or through a dedicated module available on CSSF’s eDesk platform as from 2 May 2023. In-scope FMPs must submit their initial report no later than 15 June 2023. In addition to the initial report, FMPs will be required to provide regular updates to the CSSF to ensure that the information remains accurate and up-to-date. Failure to submit the required information on time or to keep the information up-to-date may result in penalties or sanctions.