Pictured: Speaker Michael Sakala, senior manager for Ernst Young’s Global Financial Services Advisory practice. (Photo courtesy BFSB)

The Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB), in collaboration with the Ministry of Financial Services, the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), and corporate sponsor Ernst Young (EY) will host a half-day seminar on the European Union’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) January 13, 2014.

The event will be held at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel in downtown Nassau, starting at 10:00 am.

AIFMD entered into force on July 22, 2013 and regulates EU fund managers that manage alternative investment funds (AIFs), as well as fund managers (wherever they are based) that manage AIFs established in the EU and those fund managers (wherever they are based) that market the units or shares of an AIF in the EU.

AIFs include hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds and other types of institutional funds.

Michael Sakala, senior manager in EY’s Global Financial Services Advisory practice will speak on the impact and timelines of the directive, focusing also on what managers should be doing now.

The SCB will discuss the information sharing provisions of the directive and examine how select regulators from other international financial centres are addressing it. BFSB and the Ministry will focus on the opportunities available for the funds sector.