Published on 22 March 2024
Communiqué

Second stage of the ESMA Common Supervisory Action (CSA) on sustainability risks and disclosures in the investment fund sector

On 6 July 2023 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced the launch of a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) across the European Union on the integration of sustainability risks and disclosures.

The aim of the CSA is to investigate how UCITS Managers and AIFMs comply with the relevant provisions in the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation, the Taxonomy Regulation and relevant implementing measures, including the relevant provisions in the UCITS and AIFMD implementing acts on the integration of sustainability risks. The CSA also relates to the principles of the ESMA Supervisory Briefing on sustainability risks and disclosures in the area of investment management published in May 2022. The CSA is performed based on a common methodology developed by ESMA.

This communiqué follows up on the CSSF communiqué published on 6 September 2023 announcing the launch of the ESMA CSA on sustainability risks and disclosures in the investment fund sector by the CSSF.

As a reminder, the CSA follows a two-stage process where:

  • In the first stage (which is now completed), NCAs have requested a sample of UCITS Managers and AIFMs to complete a questionnaire focusing more closely on greenwashing risks.
  • In the second stage, NCAs will request the same UCITS Managers and AIFMs to complete a questionnaire dedicated to the integration of sustainability risks and factors in the organisational arrangements of UCITS Managers and AIFMs and to the transparency disclosures at IFM and product level.

The purpose of this communiqué is to inform market participants that the CSSF has now launched the second stage of the CSA.

In this context, on 19 March 2024, the CSSF contacted by email the Luxembourg-based UCITS Managers and AIFMs that are in scope of this CSA. The UCITS Managers and AIFMs that did not receive an email from the CSSF on 19 March 2024 on this subject matter are not involved in this exercise. It should be noted that the CSSF used the same sample of UCITS Managers and AIFMs for both stages of the CSA. Technical information and deadlines have been shared with the selected entities on a bilateral basis.