Komunikat Ministerstwa Finansów i Urzędu Komisji Nadzoru Finansowego w sprawie alternatywnych spółek inwestycyjnych, których akcje są dopuszczone do obrotu na rynku regulowanym lub wprowadzone do alternatywnego systemu obrotu

In view of the enactment of the Act of August 16, 2023 amending certain acts in connection with ensuring the development of the financial market and the protection of investors in this market and obvious misperceptions of the Act’s provisions relating to the trading of shares of alternative investment funds (AIFs), the Polish Financial Supervision Authority (KNF) – together with the Ministry of Finance – has published a statement.
Specifically, the two regulators note that the above noted Act of August this year makes substantial changes to the operation of AIFs one of which is the implementation of restrictions as to who can invest in shares of AIFs. According to the Ministry and the KNF, the amendments specify that AIF investors must be professional clients. The distribution to retail clients will „no longer“ be permitted.
Obviously, the Act of August 16, 2023 did not clearly state that this restriction will – naturally – not apply to AIFs that have been listed for trading on organized exchanges or alternative trading venues BEFORE the Act comes into force. Thus, further regulation has been brought underway to clarify this issue, but has not been enacted yet.
Therefore, the regulators want to clearly point out that AIFs that are listed on organized or alternative trading venues before the Act comes into force are exempt from the retail investor distribution restriction.