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A wide range of new EU legislative measures on sustainablefinance came into force on 22 August 2021.

In total, there are five Commission Delegated Regulations andtwo Commission Delegated Directives (collectively the"Delegated Acts").

The Delegated Acts seek to integrate sustainability issues andconsiderations into the following EU legislative regimes

On 21 April 2021, the European Commission (the"Commission") published the draft texts of the DelegatedActs as part of its Sustainable Finance Package1.

Final versions of the Delegated Acts were published in the EUOfficial Journal on 2 August 2021.

The Delegated Acts are designed to complement the obligations inRegulation (EU) 2019/2088 ("SFDR") and Regulation (EU)2020/852 (the "Taxonomy Regulation") and form part of theCommission's 'ambitious and comprehensive' package ofmeasures to help improve the flow of money towards sustainableactivities across the EU.

UCITS

Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/12702 (the"UCITS amending Directive") amends Directive 2010/43/EUand imposes obligations on UCITS management companies to:

AIFMD

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/12553amends Delegated Regulation (EU) 231/2013 and imposes obligationson AIFMs to:

MiFID II

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/12534amends Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 and requires investmentfirms providing financial advice or portfolio management to carryout a mandatory assessment of the sustainability preferences ofclients; take this into account in the selection of financialproducts and prepare client reports explaining how therecommendation meets a client's investment objectives, riskprofile, capacity to bear loss and sustainability preferences.

Investments firm will also need to take into accountsustainability risks when complying with organisationalrequirements and to integrate sustainability into risk managementpolicies.

Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2021/12695 amendsDelegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 (the "Amending MIFID ProductGovernance Directive") and will require investment firmsmanufacturing and distributing financial instruments to considersustainability factors in the product approval process of eachfinancial instrument and in the product governance and oversightarrangements for each financial instrument that is intended to bedistributed to clients seeking financial instruments with asustainability related profile.

Solvency II and the IDD

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/12566amends Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/35 and supplements SolvencyII to introduce the integration of sustainability risks in thegovernance, conflicts of interest and risk management of insuranceand reinsurance undertakings.

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/12577amends Delegated Regulations (EU) 2017/2358 and (EU) 2017/2359 onthe integration of sustainability factors, risks and preferencesinto the product oversight and governance requirements forinsurance undertakings and insurance distributors and into therules on conduct of business and investment advice forinsurance-based investment products.

All the Delegated Acts entered into force on 22 August 2021.

The Delegated Regulations will be directly effective from 1August 20228 .

Member States have until 31 July 2022 to adopt and apply lawsimplementing the UCITS Amending Directive.

Member States have until 22 August 2022 to adopt laws toimplement the Amending MIFID Product Governance Directive. Thosemeasures must apply by 22 November 2022.

We have produced a guide9 focusing on sustainableinvestment fund strategies to help promote environmental, socialand governance aims.

1 https://ec.europa.eu/info/publications/210421-sustainable-finance-communication_en

2 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021L1270&from=EN

3 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R1255&from=EN

4 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R1253&from=EN

5 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021L1269&from=EN

6 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R1256&from=EN

7 https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32021R1257&from=EN

8 Other than the correcting Delegated Regulation (EU)2021/1254 relating to MiFID.

9 https://maples.com/-/media/files/pdfs/esg/a-guide-to-sustainable-investment-funds.pdf

The content of this article is intended to provide a generalguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be soughtabout your specific circumstances.

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