L’AMF met à jour sa doctrine concernant les informations à fournir par les placements collectifs intégrant des approches extra-financières

The AMF has recently made significant updates to its Position-Recommendation DOC-2020-03, which outlines the disclosure requirements for collective investment schemes incorporating non-financial approaches. These changes expand the policy’s scope to encompass both French and foreign ELTIFs that are marketed to retail investors in France.
Previously, DOC-2020-03 focused on non-financial information disclosures by French collective investment schemes and foreign UCITS marketed in France to retail clients. These disclosure requirements applied to various regulatory documents and marketing materials, such as key investor information documents and prospectuses.
French ELTIFs accessible to retail investors were subject to these provisions, while foreign ELTIFs were not explicitly covered. However, Regulation (EU) 2023/606, effective from 10 January 2024, amends the ELTIF Regulation, easing the marketing conditions for ELTIFs to retail clients.
Hence, in order to ensure consistency in non-financial disclosure requirements for ELTIFs marketed to retail clients in France, regardless of their legal status or domicile, the AMF has now extended the scope of DOC-2020-03 to include both French and foreign ELTIFs that wish to make central or limited disclosures regarding their non-financial characteristics.
The AMF’s approach is guided by several principles, including promoting sustainable finance while ensuring transparency and the emergence of best practices. To avoid greenwashing risks, the information provided must be accurate, clear, and non-misleading, enabling investors to evaluate the proposed approach effectively.
To assess the effectiveness of these non-financial approaches, the AMF introduces criteria to measure the incorporation of extra-financial criteria. These criteria are based on established thresholds, such as those defined by the public ISR label.
Furthermore, the AMF simplifies the product modification procedure to accommodate changes related to extra-financial characteristics, no longer requiring separate approval for such modifications. However, specific information must be communicated to investors in these cases.
This doctrine applies to various managers and distributors of collective investment schemes marketed to non-professional investors in France. It does not apply to French collective investment schemes exclusively marketed abroad to non-resident investors.
However, DOC-2020-03 does not cover general information provided by asset management companies regarding their responsible management practices or involvement in voluntary standards.