Related provisions for COLL 5.2.23A
1Liquid Capital Requirement = Initial Capital Requirement + Capital Surcharge Calculation of Initial Capital Requirement ICR = (√AUA) x K1 |
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Where |
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ICR |
means Initial Capital Requirement |
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AUA |
means Assets Under Administration calculated as the sum of the most recent annual valuations over the preceding 12 months of the personal pension schemes administered by the firm, and adjusted to include any revaluation of assets that may occur between the date of the most recent annual valuation and the date when the firm must calculate its AUA. A firm must calculate its AUA quarterly in line with the dates when it has to submit its regulatory capital reporting form in accordance with SUP 16.12 (Integrated Regulatory Reporting). Where it is not possible to value an asset (for example because there is no readily available market price), the most recent market valuation should be used. Where it would be reasonable to assume that the value of the asset has changed by more than 15% since the most recent market valuation, a firm should instead use a reasonable estimate. This is without prejudice to any requirement on a firm to provide a personal pension scheme member with accurate and timely valuations of their portfolios. |
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K1 |
is set subject to the firm’s AUA as specified in the below table: |
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AUA |
K1 constant to be applied |
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<£100m |
10 |
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£100-£200m |
15 |
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>£200m |
20 |
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When K1 changes due to an increase in AUA, in accordance with the thresholds in this table, the firm must apply the new K1 value within six months following the date on which its AUA exceeded the threshold of its previous K1 value. |
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Calculation of Capital Surcharge |
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CS =(√P) x K2 x ICR |
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Where |
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CS |
means Capital Surcharge |
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P |
means the fraction of personal pension schemes administered by the firm which contain one or more asset types which do not appear in the list of Standard Assets below, at the most recent quarter end. For example, if a quarter of personal pensions contained non-Standard Assets, this would be inputted in to the formula as 0.25. |
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K2 |
is set at 2.5. |
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ICR |
means the Initial Capital Requirement calculated as above. |
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Standard Assets The List of Standard Assets is as follows (subject to Note 1): Cash Cash funds Exchange traded commodities Government & local authority bonds and other fixed interest stocks Investment notes (structured products) Shares in Investment trusts Managed pension funds National Savings and Investment products Permanent interest bearing shares (PIBs) Physical gold bullion Real estate investment trusts (REITs) Securities2 admitted to trading on a regulated venue UK commercial property |
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NOTE 1: |
A Standard Asset must be capable of being accurately and fairly valued on an ongoing basis and readily realised within 30 days, whenever required. |
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NOTE 2: |
In addition to complying with the provisions of IPRU-INV 5.8, in accordance with IPRU-INV 5.3.2R, a firm must hold its liquid capital in financial resources as follows: |
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ICR |
realisable within 12 months; and |
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CS |
realisable within 30 days |
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Reporting to competent authorities |
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1. |
In order to comply with the requirements of the second subparagraph of Article 24(1) and of point (d) of Article 3(3) of Directive 2011/61/EU, an AIFM shall provide the following information when reporting to competent authorities: |
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(a) |
the main instruments in which it is trading, including a break-down of financial instruments and other assets, including the AIF's investment strategies and their geographical and sectoral investment focus; |
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(b) |
the markets of which it is a member or where it actively trades; |
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(c) |
the diversification of the AIF's portfolio, including, but not limited to, its principal exposures and most important concentrations. |
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The information shall be provided as soon as possible and not later than one month after the end of the period referred to in paragraph 3. Where the AIF is a fund of funds this period may be extended by the AIFM by 15 days. |
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2. |
For each of the EU AIFs they manage and for each of the AIFs they market in the Union, AIFMs shall provide to the competent authorities of their home Member State the following information in accordance with Article 24(2) of Directive 2011/61/EU: |
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(a) |
the percentage of the AIF's assets which are subject to special arrangements as defined in Article 1(5) of this Regulation arising from their illiquid nature as referred to in point (a) of Article 23(4) of Directive 2011/61/EU; |
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(b) |
any new arrangements for managing the liquidity of the AIF; |
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(c) |
the risk management systems employed by the AIFM to manage the market risk, liquidity risk, counterparty risk and other risks including operational risk; |
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(d) |
the current risk profile of the AIF, including: |
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(i) |
the market risk profile of the investments of the AIF, including the expected return and volatility of the AIF in normal market conditions; |
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(ii) |
the liquidity profile of the investments of the AIF, including the liquidity profile of the AIF's assets, the profile of redemption terms and the terms of financing provided by counterparties to the AIF; |
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(e) |
information on the main categories of assets in which the AIF invested including the corresponding short market value and long market value, the turnover and performance during the reporting period; and |
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(f) |
the results of periodic stress tests, under normal and exceptional circumstances, performed in accordance with point (b) of Article 15(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 16(1) of Directive 2011/61/EU. |
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3. |
The information referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be reported as follows: |
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(a) |
on a half-yearly basis by AIFMs managing portfolios of AIFs whose assets under management calculated in accordance with Article 2 in total exceed the threshold of either EUR 100 million or EUR 500 million laid down in points (a) and (b) respectively of Article 3(2) of Directive 2011/61/EU but do not exceed EUR 1 billion, for each of the EU AIFs they manage and for each of the AIFs they market in the Union; |
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(b) |
on a quarterly basis by AIFMs managing portfolios of AIFs whose assets under management calculated in accordance with Article 2 in total exceed EUR 1 billion, for each of the EU AIFs they manage, and for each of the AIFs they market in the Union; |
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(c) |
on a quarterly basis by AIFMs which are subject to the requirements referred to in point (a) of this paragraph, for each AIF whose assets under management, including any assets acquired through use of leverage, in total exceed EUR 500 million, in respect of that AIF; |
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(d) |
on an annual basis by AIFMs in respect of each unleveraged AIF under their management which, in accordance with its core investment policy, invests in non-listed companies and issuers in order to acquire control. |
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4. |
By way of derogation from paragraph 3, the competent authority of the home Member State of the AIFM may deem it appropriate and necessary for the exercise of its function to require all or part of the information to be reported on a more frequent basis. |
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5. |
AIFMs managing one or more AIFs which they have assessed to be employing leverage on a substantial basis in accordance with Article 111 of this Regulation shall provide the information required under Article 24(4) of Directive 2011/61/EU at the same time as that required under paragraph 2 of this Article. |
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6. |
AIFMs shall provide the information specified under paragraphs 1, 2 and 5 in accordance with the pro-forma reporting template set out in the Annex IV. |
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7. |
In accordance with point (a) of Article 42(1) of Directive 2011/61/EU, for non-EU AIFMs, any reference to the competent authorities of the home Member State shall mean the competent authority of the Member State of reference. |
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[Note: Article 110 of the AIFMD level 2 regulation] |
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Business areas and management functions |
Explanation |
(1) Payment services |
This means: (1) payment services; (2) issuing and administering other means of payment (for example, cheques and bankers' drafts); (3) issuing electronic money; and (4) current accounts. |
(2) Settlement |
This means clearing and settlement of any transactions described in rows (3) and (6) to (9) of this annex, in relation to the assets covered by (9). It also includes clearing and settlement of any transactions described in row (10). |
(3) Investment management |
This has the same meaning as managing investments with the following adjustments: (a) it covers all types of assets; and (b) the exclusions in the Regulated Activities Order do not apply. It also covers fund management. |
(4) Financial or investment advice |
This includes advising on investments. |
(5) Mortgage advice |
This has the same meaning as advising on regulated mortgage contracts but is expanded to cover land anywhere in the world and to cover security of any kind over land. |
(6) Corporate investments |
This means acquiring, holding, managing and disposing a firm's investments made for its own account. |
(7) Wholesale sales |
This means the selling of any investment to a person other than a retail customer. It does not include the activities in (1). |
(8) Retail sales |
This means the selling of any investment to a retail customer. It includes savings accounts. It does not include the activities in (1). |
(9) Trading for clients |
This means dealing in investments as agent and execution of orders on behalf of clients but the list of products includes money market instruments and foreign exchange. |
(10) Market making |
This has the same meaning as it does in MIFID (see the definition of market maker in article 4.1(8)). |
(11) Investment research |
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(12) Origination/syndication and underwriting |
Origination and syndication include: (1) entering into or acquiring (directly or indirectly) any commitment or investment with a view to transferring some or all of it to others, or with a view to others investing in the same transaction; (2) sub-participation; and (3) any transaction described in the Glossary definition of originator. Underwriting includes underwriting that is not on a firm commitment basis. A commitment or investment includes an economic interest in some or all of it. This activity also includes the provision of services relating to such transactions. |
(13) Retail lending decisions |
Deciding whether, and on what terms, to lend to retail customers. Lending includes granting credit, leasing and hire (including finance leasing). |
(14) Wholesale lending decisions |
Deciding whether, and on what terms, to lend to persons who are not retail customers. Lending includes granting credit, leasing and hire (including finance leasing). |
(15) Design and manufacturing of products intended for wholesale customers |
Wholesale customers mean persons who are not retail customers |
(16) Design and manufacture of products intended for retail customers |
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(17) Production and distribution of marketing materials and communications |
This includes financial promotions |
(18) Customer service |
This means dealing with clients after the point of sale, including queries and fulfilment of client requests |
(19) Customer complaints handling |
This includes the firm's compliance with DISP. It also includes: (1) any similar procedures relating to activities that do not come under the jurisdiction of the Financial Ombudsman Service; (2) activities that take place outside the UK; and (3) activities that are not subject to any ombudsman service. |
(20) Collection and recovering amounts owed to a firm by its customers Dealing with customers in arrears |
‘Customer’ means any person falling into any of the definitions of client in the Glossary so far as they apply to the FCA's Handbook. The definition is extended to cover all services provided by the firm and not just those that are provided in the course of carrying on a regulated activity or an ancillary service. |
(21) Middle office |
This means risk management and controls in relation to, and accounting for, transactions in securities or derivatives |
(22) The firm's information technology |
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(23) Business continuity planning |
This means the functions described in SYSC 4.1.6R and SYSC 4.1.7R |
(24) Human resources |
This includes recruitment, training and competence and performance monitoring |
(25) Incentive schemes for the firm's staff |
This is not limited to schemes based on sales. |
(26) Providing information in relation to a specified benchmark |
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Note (1): The purpose of this annex is explained in SYSC 4.5 (Management responsibilities maps for UK2 relevant authorised persons) and SYSC 4.7.37G. This annex is also referred to in SYSC 4.6 (Management responsibilities maps for non-UK relevant authorised persons) and SYSC 4.8 (Senior management responsibilities for third-country relevant authorised persons: allocation of responsibilities) (see SYSC 4.6.14 and SYSC 4.8.35).2 |
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Note (2): A firm does not have to use the split of activities in this annex for the purposes in Note (1). If a firm does decide to use it, it may adapt it to suit its management arrangements better. For example, a firm may find the split of activities into retail and wholesale activities unsuitable. If so, the firm might: (a) treat retail and wholesale activities together; or (b) use its own definition of retail and wholesale activities. |
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Table There are some frequently asked questions about the application of the definition of an open-ended investment company in the following table. This table belongs to PERG 9.2.4 G (Introduction).
Question |
Answer |
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1 |
Can a body corporate be both open-ended and closed-ended at the same time? |
In the FCA's view, the answer to this question is 'no'. The fact that the investment condition is applied to BC (rather than to particular shares in, or securities of, BC) means that a body corporate is either an open-ended investment company as defined in section 236 of the Act or it is not. Where BC is an open-ended investment company, all of its securities would be treated as units of a collective investment scheme for the purpose of the Act. A body corporate formed in another jurisdiction may, however, be regarded as open-ended under the laws of that jurisdiction but not come within the definition of an open-ended investment company in section 236 (and vice versa). |
2 |
Can an open-ended investment company become closed-ended (or a closed-ended body become open-ended)? |
In the FCA's view, the answer to this question is 'yes'. A body corporate may change from open-ended to closed-ended (and vice versa) if, taking an overall view, circumstances change so that a hypothetical reasonable investor would consider that the investment condition is no longer met (or vice versa). This might happen where, for example, an open-ended investment company stops its policy of redeeming shares or securities at regular intervals (so removing the expectation that a reasonable investor would be able to realise his investment within a period appearing to him to be reasonable). See also PERG 9.7.5 G. |
3 |
Does the liquidation of a body corporate affect the assessment of whether or not the body is an open-ended investment company? |
The FCA considers that the possibility that a body corporate that would otherwise be regarded as closed-ended may be wound up has no effect at all on the nature of the body corporate before the winding up. The fact that, on a winding up, the shares or securities of any investor in the body corporate may be converted into cash or money on the winding up (and so 'realised') would not, in the FCA's view, affect the outcome of applying the expectation test to the body corporate when looked at as a whole. The answer to Question 4 explains that investment in a closed-ended fixed term company shortly before its winding up does not, in the FCA view, change the closed-ended nature of the company. For companies with no fixed term, the theoretical possibility of a winding up at some uncertain future point is not, in the FCA's view, a matter that would generally carry weight with a reasonable investor in assessing whether he could expect to be able to realise his investment within a reasonable period. |
4 |
Does a fixed term closed-ended investment company become an open-ended investment company simply because the fixed term will expire? |
In the FCA's view, the answer to this is 'no'. The termination of the body corporate is an event that has always been contemplated (and it will appear in the company's constitution). Even as the date of the expiry of the fixed term approaches, there is nothing about the body corporate itself that changes so as to cause a fundamental reassessment of its nature as something other than closed-ended. Addressing this very point in parliamentary debate, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury stated that the "aim and effect [of the definition] is to cover companies that look, to a reasonable investor, like open-ended investment companies". The Minister added that "A reasonable investor's overall expectations of potential investment in a company when its status with respect to the definition is being judged will determine whether it meets the definition. The matter is therefore, definitional rather than one of proximity to liquidation". (Hansard HC, 5 June 2000 col 124). |
5 |
In what circumstances will a body corporate that issues a mixture of redeemable and non-redeemable shares or securities be an open-ended investment company? |
In the FCA's view, the existence of non-redeemable shares or securities will not, of itself, rule out the possibility of a body corporate falling within the definition of an open-ended investment company. All the relevant circumstances will need to be considered (see PERG 9.6.4 G, PERG 9.2.8.8G and PERG 9.8.9 G). So the following points need to be taken into account.
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6 |
Does "realised on a basis calculated wholly or mainly by reference to..." in section 236(3)(b) apply to an investor buying investment trust company shares traded on a recognised investment exchange because of usual market practice that the shares trade at a discount to asset value? |
In the FCA's view, the answer is 'no' (for the reasons set out in PERG 9.9.4 G to PERG 9.9.6 G). |
7 |
Does the practice of UK investment trust companies buying back shares result in them becoming open-ended investment companies? |
In the FCA's view, it does not, because its actions will comply with company law: see section 236(4) of the Act and PERG 9.6.5 G. |
8 |
Would a body corporate holding out redemption or repurchase of its shares or securities every six months be an open-ended investment company? |
In the FCA's view a period of six months would generally be too long to be a reasonable period for a liquid securities fund. A shorter period affording more scope for an investor to take advantage of any profits caused by fluctuations in the market would be more likely to be a reasonable period for the purpose of the realisation of the investment (in the context of the 'expectation' test, see PERG 9.8 and, in particular, PERG 9.8.9 G which sets out the kind of factors that may need to be considered in applying the test). |
9 |
Would an initial period during which it is not possible to realise investment in a body corporate mean that the body corporate could not satisfy the investment condition? |
In the FCA's view, the answer to that question is 'no'. In applying the investment condition, the body corporate must be considered as a whole (see PERG 9.6.3 G). At the time that the shares or securities in a body corporate are issued, a reasonable investor may expect that he will be able to realise his investment within a reasonable period notwithstanding that there will first be a short-term delay before he can do so. Whether or not the 'expectation test' is satisfied will depend on all the circumstances (see PERG 9.8.9 G). |