Oplysningskrav i kapitalforeninger

Abstrakt

Through the last couple of decades, the number of both private and professional investors have increased substantially. This increase has led to the intensified use of Collective investments in the form of both UCITS (Undertakings of Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) and AIF (Alternative Investment Funds). AIF is a relatively new concept, which was introduced along with the AIFMD (Alternative Investment Fund Manager Directive) and the Danish implementation of AIFMD; the AIFM law. The AIFMD and AIFM-law came into force in the middle of the year 2013 and led to , amongst other things, that units which were previously known as hedge funds, restricted associations, and others, were imposed to change their status to capital associations, before the date of April 1st 2014. Capital associations are investment units which primarily cater for professional investors, although it is possible for the fund manager to be granted a permit to market the capital associations’ services to private investors. Capital associations are very similar to investment associations, but differ on several key areas such as having more accommodating regulation of investments made, and by choosing the accounting conceptual framework, in accordance to which the annual report is prepared. After the global financial crisis in 2007-2008, which illuminated a financial industry marked by excessive risk-taking and less than adequate monitoring, an increased focus on the regulation of collective investments and fund managers was instigated. On November 25th 2015 the regulation on transparency of securities financing transactions and of reuse and amending regulation no. 648/2012 (the SFT-regulation) was signed. This regulation increased the disclosure demands in the annual reports of capital associations, regarding information on the securities received and given, as well as information regarding securities financing transactions, provided to the stakeholders. The demands set forth by above mentioned regulation were originally supposed to come into force on July 13th 2017, and thus be implemented in the annual reports for 2017, but the demands were implemented early and were supposed to appear in the 2016 annual reports. As a result of this early implementation no guidelines as to how to present the new disclosures at year-end had yet been published. Furthermore the fund managers responsible for preparing the annual reports, did not have adequate time to align amongst themselves how to present these disclosures. It is easy to imagine that the above mentioned early implementation can result in very different presentations of disclosures in the annual reports, if the required information is disclosed at all. This thesis aims to illuminate the general disclosure demands for capital associations, with specific focus on the SFT-regulation and the disclosure demands stated herein. Additionally the aim of the thesis is to analyze annual reports prepared for capital associations by different fund managers, and from this analysis conclude on whether or not the correct disclosures has been implemented in the annual reports