THE CSSF HAS SET UP A FILING PROCEDURE FOR MAKING THE UPDATES TO PRECONTRACTUAL DOCUMENTS REQUIRED UNDER THE SFDR. TO ENSURE THAT THE SUBMITTED DOCUMENTS CAN BE REVIEWED IN GOOD TIME, THE CSSF EXPECTS UCITS AND CSSF-AUTHORISED AIFS THAT ARE STILL FUNDRAISING TO FILE BY 31 OCTOBER 2022 AT THE LATEST.
On 27 July 2022, following the publication of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 containing the regulatory technical standards for disclosures under the SFDR (the SFDR RTS), the CSSF issued a press release announcing its expectations for filing updated precontractual documents and periodic reports.
The SFDR RTS set out key principles and specific guidance on interpreting SFDR obligations for financial products caught by Articles 8 and 9 of the SFDR. In particular, they contain precontractual templates detailing the prospectus disclosures required under the SFDR, including the taxonomy-related information needed for Article 8 and 9 products (annexes II and III of the SFDR RTS) and the periodic reporting disclosure templates for such products (annexes IV and V of the SFDR RTS).
Managers of financial products in Luxembourg and across Europe are required to have updated their precontractual disclosures and inserted these templates by 1 January 2023. Because the CSSF anticipates a high workload reviewing updated documents submitted by Luxembourg fund industry players, it has issued guidance to help the process runs smoothly.
Precontractual documents. The CSSF announced that it will give priority for visa-stamping to documents (i) with updates reflecting only the sustainability-related disclosure changes required by the SFDR RTS, (ii) that are complete and compliant with the SFDR RTS, and (iii) that it receives by 31 October 2022. For these documents, the CSSF will endeavour to release the visa stamp before 31 December 2022.
The CSSF recalled that the updates must be filed electronically in accordance with Circular 19/708:
- UCITS must directly upload and e-file their updated prospectuses accompanied by an RTS confirmation letter. The CSSF will release a template for this letter shortly. A markup of the prospectus showing the updates, along with any information notices to be sent to inform investors, must also be uploaded.
- CSSF-authorised AIFs obliged to publish a precontractual disclosure document on the basis of Article 6(3) of the SFDR must submit the issuing document/prospectus to the CSSF.
Generally speaking, the CSSF expects to receive a separate precontractual disclosure template per sub-fund caught by Article 8 or 9 of the SFDR and presented only through the relevant SFDR RTS template. The European Supervisory Authorities have published Microsoft Word versions of these mandatory disclosure templates.
Periodic reports. The CSSF reminds market participants that annual reports of UCITS and AIFs issued from 1 January 2023 must comply with the detailed obligations provided in the SFDR RTS, and must contain the requisite annex using the mandatory templates from the SFDR RTS.
Read the CSSF press release here_
Read Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 here_
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