FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: Rima Maitrehenry, Fabrice Rymarz, Charles-Xavier Vincenti and Stein Mpassi Loufouma, Racine
mation and document that is necessary for the approval process. French-based AIFMs are subject to annual AMF fees based on assets under management (in France and outside France), and this amount cannot be less than EUR1,500. Non-French- based AIFMs are subject to a EUR2,000 regis - tration fixed annual fee per fund that is marketed by them in France. 2.1.3 Limited Liability Per se AIFs provide that investors’ liability is lim - ited to the amount of their commitment in the fund. The limited liability of Other AIFs depends on their legal form. When setting up Other AIFs, fund managers tend to choose the legal form that limits the liability of the investors to the amounts invested by them in the fund. 2.1.4 Disclosure Requirements Disclosure requirements relating to French AIFs are those applicable pursuant to the AIFMD and Regulation (EU) 2019/2088, as amended, relat - ing to sustainable finance disclosure (SFDR). These disclosures consist mainly of: • pre-contractual information to be made avail - able to investors before they invest in the fund (Article 23 of the AIFMD); • pre-contractual information on sustainability, depending on the AIF’s classification under the SFDR; and • an annual report, to be prepared within six months of financial year-end. On top of the AIFMD reporting requirements, French law provides for an additional disclosure measure for certain per se AIFs. FCPR, FPCI, SLP, FPS and OFS are required to establish a
semi-annual report within two months following the end of a semester. This semi-annual report includes: • an inventory of the portfolio of assets held by the AIF; and • the AIF’s net assets, number of shares/units issued, liquidation value and off-balance sheet commitments. A document called “asset composition”, which is part of this semi-annual report, is verified by the AIF’s statutory auditors. AIFs’ marketing materials should be in line with the AIFMD and with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) guidelines (ESMA34- 45-1244). On top of this, such marketing mate - rials must also comply with French regulations (including the AMF doctrine). Fund managers regulated by the AMF are required to report to the AMF, on a regular basis. This includes AIFMD reporting and the reporting of certain events (breach of ratio, payment of indemnification to investors, etc) or of financial data (liquidation value, assets under manage - ment, etc). 2.2 Fund Investment 2.2.1 Types of Investors in Alternative Funds Investors in AIFs are either retail investors or professional investors. Retail investors (such as individuals, family offices and/or high net worth individuals) usually invest in AIFs through a distributor’s network (private banks, insur - ance companies and investment advisers). Pro - fessional investors consist of banks, insurance companies and large corporations investing on their own account, as well as fund managers managing investment funds or investment ser -
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