ESMA launches a Common Supervisory Action with NCAs on valuation of UCITS and open-ended AIFs

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), the EU’s securities markets regulator, is launching a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) on the valuation of UCITS and open-ended Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) across the EU.

The CSA aims to assess compliance of supervised entities with the relevant valuation-related provisions in the UCITS and AIFMD frameworks, in particular the valuation of less liquid assets, and will be conducted throughout 2022.

The CSA will focus on authorised managers of UCITS and open-ended AIFs investing in less liquid assets i.e.: unlisted equities, unrated bonds, corporate debt, real estate, high yield bonds, emerging markets, listed equities that are not actively traded, bank loans.

The work will be done using a common assessment framework developed by ESMA, which sets out the scope, methodology, supervisory expectations and timeline for how to carry out a comprehensive supervisory action in a convergent manner.

Throughout 2022, NCAs will share knowledge and experiences through ESMA to foster convergence in how they supervise valuation-related issues. One core objective is the consistent and effective supervision of valuation methodologies, policies and procedures of supervised entities to ensure that less liquid assets are valued fairly both during normal and stressed market conditions, in line with applicable rules.

The current economic conditions underline the importance of assessing valuation risks which may pose a potential threat to financial stability and this exercise is of utmost importance to effectively address this risk at EU level.

This is the third CSA that ESMA and NCAs have launched on asset management. The first two covered UCITS liquidity risk management and supervision of costs and fees in UCITS.