Published on 6 September 2022
Communiqué

Communication to the investment fund industry on SFDR RTS confirmation letter

By Communiqué “Communication to the investment fund industry on regulatory requirements in relation to Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures in the financial services sector (SFDR) and upcoming entry into force of SFDR Level 2 provisions (SFDR RTS)”, published on 27 July 2022, the CSSF reminded the deadline of 1 January 2023 for specific updates of UCITS and AIF pre-contractual documents.

Further, the CSSF provided details in that Communiqué on how to proceed with the filing of updated pre-contractual documents in view of the upcoming entry into force of the SFDR RTS.

The CSSF informs that the announced RTS confirmation letter, that should accompany the filing of a prospectus/issuing document to support the update on sustainability-related disclosures with regard to SFDR RTS, is now available and can be downloaded from the website of the CSSF here for UCITS and here for AIFs.

While the RTS confirmation letter is presented in two versions that are similar in essence, a specific version for UCITS respectively for AIFs must however be used depending on the fund type concerned.

The CSSF reminds that practitioners intending to update pre-contractual documents may benefit of an accelerated examination and visa stamping of the prospectus provided that the following conditions are fulfilled:

  • changes made to the pre-contractual documents are limited to the insertion of the templates according to the annexes of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 and that for all of the sub-funds subject to Article 8 or 9 SFDR of the fund;
  • the updated prospectus filed is accompanied by the RTS confirmation letter and related table requested, duly filled in and signed by authorised persons;
  • any other changes made apart from changes made in reference to the insertion of the standardised annexes pursuant to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/1288 must be minor, of editorial nature only and not entail a material change for investors;
  • for the purpose of the accelerated examination and visa stamp procedure, the following sequential process must be followed:
  1. the submission for examination of a draft prospectus/issuing document including the templates (in track changes compared to last visa-stamped prospectus/issuing document), the RTS confirmation letter and the related table requested
  2. where relevant, CSSF will return comments to the applicant with request for prompt clarification or confirmation, if needed, reiteration until completion and consent on disclosures to be inserted
  3. after completion and consent, transmission to the applicant of an information that examination phase ended and invitation to upload of the consented prospectus version in clean version for visa stamp, in PDF – text format and in accordance with Circular CSSF 19/708 relating to the electronic transmission of documents to the CSSF (DOCREP-ENNNNNNNN-CCCCCCCC-PPPP-YYYY-MM-DD-PC-LL-0000.pdf).

This accelerated examination and processing is available until 31 October 2022, any transmission following the process above after that date can only be considered on a best effort basis.

Prospectuses/issuing documents updated with regard to SFDR RTS along with other material changes to the prospectus/issuing document must be filed through ordinary amendments procedure and will be examined on a best effort basis.