ABSTRACT
Private equity (PE) fund manager regulation in Europe was a matter for national governments, and the European Union's (EUs) "hands-off" approach gave rise to a variety of policy responses. The Directive seeks to regulate all alternative investment fund managers operating or marketing funds in the EU, but with a registration-only requirement for fund managers with assets under management falling below a certain size threshold. This chapter reviews the main regulatory objectives of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), insofar as they are capable of being discerned, and suggests an implied research agenda. Those who framed the AIFMD were clearly concerned by the risk of fraud or malpractice or dissipation of fund assets. Perhaps conscious of some high-profile cases involving hedge funds, including the Madoff fraud and the collapse of Lehman Brothers, various provisions of the AIFMD provide for significant regulatory oversight of fund managers and their operations.
