Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized Issue 11 2023

Global Trustee and Fiduciary Services Bite-Sized | Issue 11 | 2023 6 QUICK LINKS CRYPTO FUND LIQUIDITY MICA REMUNERATION SUSTAINABLE FINANCE/ ESG AUSTRALIA ASIA EUROPE NORTH AMERICA UNITED KINGDOM In Primary Market Bulletin 45, published in August 2023, the FCA reminded firms, it set out its intention to consult next year on rules and guidance for listed companies to disclose in line with the UK-endorsed ISSB standards and the TPT Framework as a complementary package. Link to TPT Disclosure Framework here UK’s GTAG Publishes Final Advice Paper on UK Green Taxonomy as HMG Prepares to Consult Market On 5 October 2023 the UK’s Green Technical Advisory Group (GTAG) published its final piece of advice to the UK government on the design and implementation of a UK Green Taxonomy. The latest advice focuses on the long term “institutional home” for a UK Green Taxonomy, completing the suite of nine GTAG papers that have summarised the independent advice offered to the UK Government since the inception of the group in June 2021. In the advice paper, the GTAGmakes the case for enduring governance arrangements for the UK Green Taxonomy and lays out the options for achieving this, concluding that as a least regrets option, HMG establish an Advisory Body to support implementation/development of the Taxonomy through Executive action in the short-term. In its paper GTAG states that this could be achieved either by providing additional funding and responsibilities to an existing body (e.g., the Financial Reporting Council/Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority) or creating a new entity (e.g., “GTAG 2.0”). The rationale for this was it could support both voluntary and mandatory approaches to disclosure and, further, mandatory disclosures via either route to final implementation. GTAG says it further recommends that in parallel, preparing for the medium term, HMG should initiate the process of legislating for long-term statutory decision-making powers. Again, this could be through granting powers/responsibilities and financial support to an existing body or to create a new organisation. Link to GTAG Report here ESMA to Launch Common Supervisory Action on MiFID II Sustainability Requirements On 3 October 2023 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) announced that it will launch a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) with National Competent Authorities (NCAs) on the integration of sustainability in firms’ suitability assessment and product governance processes and procedures in 2024. ESMA states that the goal of the CSA will be to assess the progress made by intermediaries in the application of the key sustainability requirements, which entered into application in 2022 following the amendments to the MiFID II Delegated Acts. ESMA says that the CSA will cover the following aspects: • How firms collect information on their clients’ “sustainability preferences”; • Which arrangements firms have put in place to understand and correctly categorise investment products with sustainability factors for the purpose of the suitability assessment; • How firms ensure the suitability of an investment with respect to sustainability (including the use of a “portfolio approach”); and • How firms specify any sustainability-related objectives a product is compatible with as part of the target market assessment of the investment product. The CSA follows ESMA’s recent update of two sets of guidelines on suitability and product governance, both of which entered into application on 3 October 2023. Link to ESMA Announcement here