The book provides a full and practical review of the impact of the highly controversial European Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, which was adopted after much debate in October 2010 (AIFMD). The AIFMD is intended to be a regulatory response to systematic risks that came to light in the financial crisis and will have a broad and material impact on the manner in which investment managers may operate and offer non-retail funds (including hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and infrastructure funds), which were previously largely unregulated. The AIFMD not only regulates fund managers based in the EU, but also seeks to regulate non-EU managers who seek to offer non-EU funds to EU investors. Accordingly, the AIFMD will impact all fund offerings to professional investors based in the EU, potentially severely limiting the range of investments available to EU pension funds, insurance companies and other institutional investors. The book begins with a detailed review of the AIFMD itself, including the 'Level 2' rules. The bulk of the book consists of chapters that analyse and explain the national implementation legislation of the EU Member States. Through this structure, the work provides the reader with fast-track access to the regulation at European and national level of non-retail EU and non-EU funds and fund managers, which are caught by the AIFMD.

This work analyses the law and regulation relating to financial investments, their markets, payment and settlement systems, as well as the duties and liabilities of intermediaries, providing invaluable legal and practical guidance regarding legal risk and the protection of the investor. The book is divided into three parts. Part I categorises the various financial assets legally and analyses their legal, regulatory, and risk/return properties, and examines what protections are available to investors who own financial assets. It also addresses the investment principles that underpin the investment processes. Part II addresses the process by which financial assets may be acquired and disposed of via the markets and the market infrastructure, including central counterparty and clearing features as well as payment and settlement systems. It analyses the risks investors face in the context of trading and settlement. The impact of the principles and risks, described in Parts I and II respectively, inform the scope of the duties, responsibilities and liabilities of the intermediaries that advise investors. Part III focuses on the role of these intermediaries, tying together the constituent components of the investment cycle from the investor's point of view and examining the quality of investor protection, service, proprietary protection and regulatory supervision. Written by a specialist with broad market experience this book is an essential purchase for all lawyers advising investors, financial advisors and investment managers.