Radar archive — March 2026
AMF loosens rules on portfolio managers' outside roles
The AMF revised its doctrine for asset management companies, clarifying when a financial manager may carry out non-regulated activities outside the management company, subject to continuity of resources and conflict-of-interest safeguards. It also adjusted authorisation-withdrawal procedures and digital-resilience documentation requirements.
Implications for capital — The change gives management companies more flexibility in structuring manager roles, while preserving existing constraints on shared managers performing regulated activities elsewhere.
CMA opens financing funds to public offering and listing
The Capital Market Authority amended its framework to permit financing investment funds — previously confined to private placement — to be offered publicly and listed on both the Main Market and the Nomu parallel market. The rules consolidate direct and indirect financing structures into a single instrument and add investor-protection controls, including borrowing capped at 15% of net asset value (up to 50% of fund size on Nomu).
Implications for capital — Private-credit and financing strategies gain access to listed, publicly distributed structures in Saudi Arabia, broadening the investor base for a fund class that previously reached only private placements.
Source: Capital Market Authority (CMA)
France transposes AIFM II, reshaping fund delegation and liquidity rules
The AMF set out the framework for the AIFM II Directive, which had to be transposed by 16 April 2026 and applies to both AIF and UCITS managers. It introduces harmonised liquidity management tools (open-ended funds must adopt at least two), a dedicated regime for loan-originating AIFs with leverage caps and single-borrower limits, and enhanced delegation and reporting requirements.
Implications for capital — Fund managers face new structural requirements on liquidity tooling, loan-origination limits and delegation disclosure, with additional reporting to the AMF from 16 April 2027.
SEBI clears net settlement for foreign investors, eases fund wind-downs
At its 213th board meeting SEBI approved net settlement of funds for outright cash-market transactions by foreign portfolio investors, with securities continuing to settle on a gross basis, targeted for full implementation by 31 December 2026. The board also gave alternative investment funds flexibility to retain liquidation proceeds beyond fund life for pending tax or litigation, allowed inoperative funds to be tagged for lighter reporting, and cut the Social Impact Fund minimum investment to ₹1,000 from ₹2 lakh.
Implications for capital — Net settlement reduces funding and foreign-exchange costs on inbound portfolio flows, and the AIF measures lower the compliance overhead of closing or dormant fund vehicles in India.
SEC and CFTC jointly draw the line on which crypto assets are securities
On 17 March 2026 the SEC issued an interpretation, joined by the CFTC, setting out how the federal securities and commodity laws apply to crypto assets. It establishes a token taxonomy spanning digital commodities, digital collectibles, digital tools, stablecoins and digital securities, and specifies when a non-security crypto asset becomes, or ceases to be, subject to an investment contract, including treatment of airdrops, mining, staking and wrapping.
Implications for capital — The interpretation allocates jurisdiction between the two agencies and states that most crypto assets are not themselves securities, altering how digital-asset holdings are classified within regulated fund and custody structures.
Saudi Arabia launches a light-touch fund regime for institutional capital
The Capital Market Authority approved the Instructions of Simplified Investment Funds, a new regime restricted to institutional clients and offered only by private placement. It removes the prior 15-day offering review in favour of pre-offering notification, exempts special-purpose-entity funds from appointing a custodian, and widens managers' discretion over termination, unit classes, reporting and unitholder governance.
Implications for capital — Sponsors of private equity, venture and other institutional vehicles gain a faster, lower-cost onshore structuring option within the Saudi market, narrowing the operational gap with established offshore fund domiciles.
Source: Capital Market Authority (CMA)