Danish Financial Supervisory Authority identifies shortcomings in investment fund marketing and extends thematic report to AIFMs and management companies

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has published findings from a supervisory review of how alternative investment fund managers and investment management companies market investment funds, concluding that several firms’ marketing and related controls are not always fair, clear and non-misleading for retail and semi-professional investors. The authority also updated its thematic report on marketing of investment products and services to reflect the observations and requirements for these firms. The review covered two alternative investment fund managers and two investment management companies and assessed their procedures for drafting, distributing and controlling marketing, alongside samples of marketing materials. The authority found weaknesses in firms’ procedures and controls, and deficiencies in the concrete marketing from all participants, including presenting potential benefits without equally clear disclosure of risks and, for three firms, information that could give an impression of higher returns than investors can realistically expect. The work was benchmarked against Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1156 and Article 9 of Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014, and was accompanied by four published inspection reports for Difko Forvaltning A/S, European Maritime Finance A/S, Fundmarket A/S and Wealth Fund Partners A/S.