Regulation through the fund lifecycle

Navigating the complexity of the European regulatory landscape

Before the 2008 financial crisis, private equity occupied a relatively sheltered position from a regulatory perspective. Funds themselves were generally unregulated and while certain jurisdictions specified domestic regulatory overlays, this was not universal.

Fast forward to 2021 and according to data collated as part of our recently published report, ‘Conquering Complexity: How Europe’s private equity CFOs and COOs are setting themselves up for success’ the single largest challenge facing the European private equity industry is the management of regulatory risk, with 86% of those surveyed agreeing that that regulation will become more complex over the coming 12 months.

In this short guide, we take a high level look at the key regulatory requirements applicable to private equity sponsors throughout the lifecycle of both their business and the funds that they raise and manage. We’ll also consider whether a tougher and tighter regulatory environment really is on the horizon in the short to medium term.

What we’ll cover in this guide:

• Establishing the manager: the primary structuring models and the associated compliance and regulatory requirements.
• Fundraising: main rules and regulations governing fundraising and distribution.
• Setting up your structure: key regulatory points to consider when setting up a structure, including investor regulations, substance, sustainability and domestic regimes.
• Ongoing management: the core regulatory reporting requirements that managers and fund structures may be subject to.

The full report, ‘Conquering Complexity: How Europe’s COOs and CFOs are setting themselves up for success‘, can be downloaded here. For more information, please contact James Duffield.