The impact of Brexit on the UK alternative investment fund industry

Following the 23 June 2016 referendum through which the British people have decided to leave the European Union and the 29 March 2017 notification to the European Council of the UK intention to withdraw from the Union, on 31 May 2017, ESMA published an opinion providing nine principles regarding the supervisory approach to be held by EU Countries’ Authorities in the event of relocations of entities, activities and/or functions from the UK to the other 27 Member States as a consequence of Brexit. The opinion, entitled “General principles to support supervisory convergence in the context of the United Kingdom withdrawing from the European Union”, looks like the first act of a “regulatory war” that the UK and the EU will “fight” in order, on the one hand, to keep in London, and, on the other, to attract to the other EU Countries, both financial players and their operations. Obviously such an opinion has an impact even on the alternative investment fund industry that in the EU, so far, has been mainly based in London. Moving from the analysis of the EU and UK regulation on alternative investment funds and the main contents of such an opinion, the article aims at discuss-ing whether or not Brexit will pose a threat to London as the main European and global financial centre for alternative investment fund activities.