Executive order on foreign UCITS' marketing in Denmark under consultation

New legal basis regarding information documents to be made available for investors

The current provision in the executive order, which the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority now proposes to amend, is the provision that refers to the documents and information which foreign UCITS must provide to investors in connection with marketing in Denmark.

The current provision refers to Chapter IX of the UCITS Directive. After the proposed amendments, the provision will refer to Section VII of the Act on investment associations etc. as well as rules issued pursuant to Section VII of the executive order on foreign UCITS' marketing in Denmark, key investor information and other information, including issue prices and redemption prices.

New rules on annual reports

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority also proposes that a new provision which is to clarify the obligation to prepare annual reports and half-yearly reports is introduced. Furthermore, the requirements stating how annual reports must be disclosed are clarified in another provision.

The applicable rules require that foreign UCITS which either already promote or intend to promote their shares in Denmark must give investors access to both annual reports and half-yearly reports for each financial year after the new proposed rules enter into force.

The annual report must be disclosed no later than four months after the end of the period to which it relates, and the half-yearly report must be disclosed no later than two months after the end of the period. Therefore, it is important that current players who promotes shares in foreign UCITS are prepared to make these documents available to Danish investors.

New penalty clause

The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority also proposes to include a new provision that authorizes the authorities to impose fines on foreign UCITS that violate Danish executive orders issued by the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority to stop their marketing in Denmark. However, it is unclear what fine level the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority has in mind. This question could be investigated and clarified as part of the ongoing consultation process.

End of the consultation

The consultation on the above-mentioned amendments to the executive order on foreign UCITS marketing in Denmark will end on 14 September 2023. The Danish Financial Supervisory Authority will publish the consultation responses on the consultation portal. The executive order including the proposed the amendments will most likely enter into force as of 1 January 2024. We do not expect that the consultation process will result in significant changes to the proposed provisions.

If you have any questions about the proposed amendments, reach out to our specialists Partner Kim Høibye, Attorney Jakub Zakrzewski or Assistant Attorney Honas Kader.