Welcome to the Investment Management Brief, our regular briefing designed to offer an overview of the latest business issues in investment including analysis and comment from Pinsent Masons.

In this issue we cover:

UK:

Certain open-ended retail funds that invest primarily in 'illiquid' assets, such as property, will be subject to new rules from next year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced. Read more here.

It is not always clear whether unit-linked investment products, such as unit-linked pension products and investment bonds, are good value for investors, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said. Read more here.  

Company directors in the UK should ensure that they reflect the latest guidance and regulatory requirements on climate change in their decision-making, to guard against any future risk of legal action, experts have warned. Read more here.

A group of 130 banks from 46 countries have signed up to a set of principles designed to promote a responsible, sustainable banking system, in line with global climate change and sustainable development goals. Read more here.

Brexit:

The chief executive of the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Andrew Bailey, said that there remain a "number of issues" which require further action to prepare the financial services sector for a no-deal Brexit scenario. Read more here.

Ireland:

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has published new guidance aimed at helping financial firms comply with their obligations under anti-money laundering (AML) and countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) legislation. Read more here.

The Irish parliament has passed the second stage of reforms to the country's investment limited partnership legislation, setting the stage for changes which will modernise the Irish funds industry. Read more here.

The Central Bank of Ireland (CBI) has written to fund managers to notify them of this year's deadlines for applications for new funds and new sub-funds seeking a pre-Christmas or pre-year end effective date. Read more here.

The Central Bank of Ireland has launched a consultation into a regulatory framework that will establish rules and guidance on the treatment of errors in investment funds. Read more here.

Webinars:

Financial services: redress and remediation: Firms often look to proactively remediate and redress customers where they uncover problems which have occurred. This can help avoid regulatory exposure, regulator involvement, maintain good PR and reflect appropriate culture. Date: 17th October 2019 at 13:00 GMT. For further information and to register click here.

The creation of a Digital Single Market within the EU has been one of the core aims of the Juncker Commission. Close to 50 legislative initiatives have been kicked off since May 2015 when the Commission first published its strategy. A plenitude of regulations and directives have been introduced covering such topical aspects as geo-blocking, portability of online content, data privacy and localisation, audio-visual media, platform liability and many more. This webinar will take stock of where we stand in the process towards a truly existing single market in the online world. Date 10th October 2019 at 13:00 GMT. For further information and to register click here.

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