Consultations & Engagement

The FCA is planning to implement a new product information regime for Consumer Composite Investments. In April 2025 they published a second consultation on some remaining issues to support the regime.

ESMA has published its final reports on draft regulatory technical standards and guidelines for liquidity management tools under the revised AIFMD and UCITS Directive.

As part of its Savings and Investment Union strategy, the European Commission is gathering feedback from stakeholders on obstacles to financial integration across the EU.

View a summary on the policy work being undertaken by regulators and governments on funds' liquidity management.

HM Treasury and the FCA are consulting on changes to the AIFM regime in the UK. Find out more about this here.

The FCA have published their response to their a discussion paper on firms' sustainability-related governance, incentives, and competencies. They have introduced some rules relating to themes in the paper and have no plans to introduce any more. More details can be found here.

RICS published a survey in February/March 2025 to understand how the UK VPS 3 valuation standards, within their 2023 edition of the UK National Supplement to the Global Red Book, are impacting stakeholders and to provide insight into the future direction of RICS. AREF's response to the survey and UK National Supplement can be found here.

Click here for details about the work by regulators and governments on ensuring good governance by ESG ratings and data products providers.

The Government are implementing a Building Safety Levy. Click here for more details.

In February 2025, legislation for an unauthorised co-ownership contractual scheme, the Reserved Investor Fund (RIF), and tax regulations for the RIF were laid in Parliament and will come in force in mid-March 2025; more details can be found by clicking here.

In March 2025, the FCA and PRA confirmed that they are not taking their work on diversity and inclusion in the financial sector any further. More details about this can be found here.

Find out more here about the FCA's Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labels regime.

Click here to learn more about regulation and guidance in relation to the Long-Term Asset Fund (LTAF) and read about AREF's event looking at the future of the LTAF. The model LTAF Instrument of Incorporation and model LTAF Co-Ownership Deed for ACS can be found here too.

AREF has responded to the Financial Reporting Council's consultation on significant updates to the UK Stewardship Code.

The Law Commission are reviewing Part 2 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 with a view to modernise commercial leasehold legislation. AREF has responded to their initial consultation on this which considers the right to renew business tenancies.

AREF has responded to IOSCO's consultation on Revised Recommendations for Liquidity Risk Management for Collective Investment Schemes.

AREF has submitted a response to HM Treasury consultation on a UK Green Taxonomy. More details can be found here.

TNFD has published the sector guidance - Engineering, construction and real estate.  More details can be found here.

The reporting principles in the paper on ESG Metrics for Real Estate have been updated in January 2025.

The UK Government are undertaking a Pensions Investment Review focusing on DC workplace schemes and Local Government Pension Schemes. They published an interim report in November 2024. AREF's responses to a call for evidence and consultations relating to this review can be found here.

Click here to see AREF's responses to the UK Government's Green Paper on their Industrial Strategy for the next 10 years and HM Treasury's Call for Evidence for the Government's Financial Services Growth & Competitiveness Strategy.

Find out more here about the Government's work to enable DC pension schemes to invest in illiquid assets. Also, there are links to guidance from TPR and cases studies from PLSA which supports this and AREF's own lobbying to the Government on this matter.

Find out more here about the work by the UK Government, FCA and TPR on a Value for Money Framework for DC pension schemes.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government are consulting on reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework and other changes to the planning system. More details can be found here.

In May 2024 the European Commission published its Summary Report of the Open and Targeted Consultations on the SFDR assessment. This was followed by the ESAs Joint Opinion on the assessment of SFDR. More details can be found here.

The Central Bank of Ireland have published feedback to its discussion paper on the approach to macroprudential policy for investment funds. More details can be found here.

Find out more about ELTIF 2.0 here

The FCA have published their policy statement for the Overseas Funds Regime; this includes the final rules and feedback to their earlier consultation. This follows on from the roadmap on implementing the Overseas Funds Regime published by HM Treasury and the FCA . More details can be found here.

RICS are consulting on updating the RICS Red Book Global Standards. More details can be found here.

The Transition Plan Taskforce have produced guidance for preparers and users of climate transition plans, including Asset Managers and Asset Owners. More details can be found here.

In early June 2024 the PRA published its policy statement on its reforms to the Matching Adjustment. More details can be found by clicking here.

Members of the European Real Estate Forum, including AREF, have set out in a paper their recommendations for the next EU mandate in relation to real estate.

The FCA have published guidance on their anti-greenwashing rule. More details can be found here.

In April 2024, AREF responded to the Government's consultation on the treatment of DB scheme surpluses and a model for a public sector consolidator. This consultation followed on from the Government's call for evidence in 2023 on how DB schemes could use their assets more flexibly. Click here for more details.

In March 2024 the European Commission published the delegated act: Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) on the notifications for cross-border marketing and management of AIFs and UCITS within the EU.

AREF has responded to the consultation from the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision on the Disclosure of climate-related financial risks

Find out here more about the legislative changes the Government are making from 6 April 2024 to reform the Construction Industry Scheme.

The UK Government have consulted on improving transparency of land ownership when trusts are involved in the ownership structure. AREF responded to this consultation. More details can be found here.

The FSB published its Revised Policy Recommendations to Address Structural Vulnerabilities from Liquidity Mismatch in Open-Ended Funds in December 2023. These recommendations supersede Section 2 of the FSB’s 2017 Policy Recommendations to Address Structural Vulnerabilities from Asset Management Activities.

In December 2023 IOSCO published its Guidance on Anti-Dilution Liquidity Management Tools.

The National Planning Policy Framework was updated in December 2023. This followed a Government consultation on reforms to national planning policy.