The CSSF’s prospectus regime: Are you prepared for the 31 October’s deadline?

SFDR RTS

The SFDR RTS is applicable to all funds (CSSF-supervised or not) and their AIFM / management company.

The SFDR RTS provide guidance on the content, methodology and presentation of the information to be disclosed in pre-contractual documents, on websites and in periodic reports in relation to :

• The principle of “do no significant harm”;
• The sustainability indicators and adverse sustainability impacts; and
• The promotion of environmental or social characteristics and sustainable investment objectives.

Also, the SFDR RTS require financial market participants to insert their mandatory website product disclosures in a separate website section to be titled “Sustainability-related disclosures”.

The SFDR RTS will apply from 1 January 2023. In relation to their financial products subject to Articles 8 and 9 of SFDR, financial market participants will have to present, by 1 January 2023, the relevant pre-contractual and periodic disclosure information in the format of templates set out in the annexes of the SFDR RTS.

Furthermore, Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of 18 June 2020 on the establishment of a framework to facilitate sustainable investments (the Taxonomy Regulation) amending SFDR requires financial market participants (for those financial products subject to Articles 8 and 9 of SFDR) to provide by 1 January 2023 for transparency in pre-contractual documents and periodic reports with regard to the environmental objectives referred to in Article 9, points (c) to (f) of the Taxonomy Regulation. 

Related CSSF Communication

The CSSF Communication is applicable to CSSF-supervised funds.

In its CSSF Communication, the CSSF has required that UCTIS/AIFs shall submit to the CSSF their updated issuing document/prospectus in accordance with the provisions of the SFDR RTS and Taxonomy Regulation by 31 October 2022 at the latest, in which case the CSSF will endeavour to release the visa stamp thereon prior to 31 December 2022, noting that: 

• The CSSF will give priority for visa-stamping to those issuing documents/prospectuses of UCITS/AIFs for which updates are limited to reflect only the sustainability related disclosure changes; 
• Each duly updated UCITS prospectus, including only the sustainability related disclosure changes, should be filed for visa stamp with an accompanying RTS confirmation letter (which template will be made available by the CSSF shortly); and
• Each CSSF authorised AIF which, on the basis of Article 6(3) of SFDR, is obliged or intends to publish the pre-contractual disclosure templates in an annex to its issuing document/prospectus shall submit the issuing document/prospectus to the CSSF within the set deadline. 

We are available to assist you in this respect. In particular, we can have a discussion with you on the above to determine what needs to be done and by what date. Also, if you wish, we can prepare the necessary documentation and disclosures and take care of the CSSF approval process, as the case may be.