19 September 2023 Cédric Danois  - Camille Kohn ESG - EU Law - Investment Funds - Sustainable Finance

CSSF communication regarding launch of ESMA Common Supervisory Action

Sustainability risks and disclosures in investment fund sector

On 6 September 2023, the Luxembourg Financial Supervisory Authority (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, “CSSF”) issued a statement (the “Statement”) regarding the launch for Luxembourg-based UCITS Managers and AIFMs of the Common Supervisory Action on sustainability risks and disclosures in the investment fund sector (“CSA”) by the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) together with the relevant National Supervisory Authorities (“NSA”).

The goal of the CSA is to assess the compliance of supervised asset managers across the EU with relevant provisions on integration of sustainability risks and disclosures in the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”), the Taxonomy Regulation and relevant implementing measures, including the relevant provision in the UCITS and AIFMD implementing acts. 

The CSA will take into account the principles affirmed in the ESMA Supervisory briefing on sustainability risks and disclosures in the area of investment management (the “Supervisory Briefing”) and will be performed based on a common methodology by ESMA. The methodology has not been disclosed in the Statement. The Supervisory Briefing notably requires information in relation to sustainability disclosures to be clear, succinct, fair and not misleading.

In a first step

NSAs will request UCITS Managers and AIFMs to complete a questionnaire focusing more closely on greenwashing risks.

In a second step

NSAs will request UCITS Managers and AIFMs to complete a questionnaire dedicated to the integration of sustainability risks and factors in their organisational arrangements and to the transparency disclosures at entity and product level.

Further resources

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