Throughout August you will have seen a number of regulators publishing updated circulars, opinions and notices in relation to the application of the ESMA Guidelines on stress test scenarios under the Money Market Fund Regulation (EU) 2017/1131 (MMFR). Including regulators such as the: MFSA, CMVM, Central Bank of Ireland, FSMA & CSSF.
Although liquidity risk management practices vary in different jurisdictions, in most cases, asset managers are required to monitor the liquidity of the fund on a frequent basis. Whilst many aspects of the regulations are broadly similar, differences can be seen from what is considered “liquid”, and around methodology to liquidity buckets, stress testing and reporting requirements. In Europe for example, neither UCITS nor AIFMD specify a specific methodology for calculating liquidity. This is in contrast to the US SEC Liquidity Risk Management Framework requirements which set out a specific methodology to be followed, although that methodology is not without its shortcomings.
