AIFMD II — the living implementation tracker (what applies when, per member state + UK divergence)
There are hundreds of AIFMD II summaries online. Nearly all of them are law-firm alerts frozen on the day they were published — a 2024 "key changes" piece won't tell you that Ireland transposed two weeks late, that the Commission adopted the liquidity-tools standards in November 2025, or that the reporting templates everyone must build to still don't exist. This page is the other thing: a tracker that gets updated as each piece lands, with a changelog at the bottom so you can see exactly what changed and when. Snapshot pages age; this one has a maintenance schedule.
One vocabulary note. AIFMD II is Level 1 — the directive itself (Directive (EU) 2024/927), which sets the obligations in principle. Much of the operational detail sits in Level 2 — the RTS/ITS (regulatory and implementing technical standards: the binding technical rules ESMA drafts and the Commission adopts) plus ESMA guidelines. A lot of AIFMD II's practical content is still in Level 2 pipework, which is why "AIFMD II applies from 16 April 2026" is true and incomplete at the same time. And transposition is each member state writing the directive into its own national law — the directive binds governments; it's the national law that binds you.
The phase-in timeline
| Date | What happens | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Mar 2024 | Directive (EU) 2024/927 published in the Official Journal | ✅ Done | EUR-Lex |
| 15 Apr 2024 | Entry into force (20 days after publication). Also the reference date for the loan-origination grandfathering: AIFs constituted before this date get transitional treatment (below) | ✅ Done | EUR-Lex, Art 4 |
| Apr 2025 | ESMA final report: draft RTS on the characteristics of liquidity management tools (LMTs), plus draft guidelines on LMT selection and calibration | ✅ Done | ESMA final report |
| 9 Jun 2025 | UK: HM Treasury consultation + FCA Call for Input on replacing the UK AIFM regime close — the UK's divergence track, not a transposition (below) | ✅ Done | HMT consultation · FCA CfI |
| Oct 2025 | ESMA final report: draft RTS on when an open-ended loan-originating AIF may stay open-ended (liquidity, stress testing, redemption policy) | ✅ Delivered to the Commission — adoption pending (see open items) | ESMA final report |
| 17 Nov 2025 | European Commission adopts the two LMT delegated regulations (AIFMD + UCITS versions); one-year transitional for funds constituted before 16 Apr 2026 | ✅ Adopted — OJ publication status under verification | Walkers summary (Commission act — link to verify) |
| 19 Dec 2025 | Luxembourg: CSSF Circular 25/901 consolidates the SIF / SICAR / Part II UCI framework ahead of the AIFMD II start | ✅ Done | CSSF 25/901 |
| 3 Mar 2026 | Luxembourg transposition law adopted (Bill 8628, lodged 3 Oct 2025; voted 12 Feb 2026; published 9 Mar 2026) | ✅ Done | CSSF communication · Ashurst |
| 23 Mar 2026 | CSSF opens the eDesk "LMT selection" module — Luxembourg UCITS/AIFM LMT selections + activation/deactivation policies due by 16 Apr 2026 | ✅ Done | CSSF communication, 18 Mar 2026 |
| 16 Apr 2026 | The big one. Transposition deadline; the substantive AIFMD II obligations apply — loan origination, LMT selection, delegation notification, depositary changes, substance. Only the Article 24 AIFMD / Article 20a UCITS reporting amendments are carved out to 2027 (Directive Art 3) | ✅ In force | EUR-Lex, Art 3 |
| 1 May 2026 | Ireland: S.I. No. 181 of 2026 (European Union (Alternative Investment Fund Managers) (Amendment) Regulations 2026) comes into operation — two weeks after the EU deadline | ✅ Done | S.I. 181/2026 · A&L Goodbody |
| 5 May 2026 | Ireland: revised Central Bank AIF Rulebook applies with immediate effect (CP162 feedback statement published alongside) | ✅ Done | AIF Rulebook (May 2026) · CP162 feedback |
| H2 2026 (expected) | ESMA consultation on the RTS/ITS rewriting the supervisory reporting templates (the new "Annex IV"), including delegation data | ⏳ Expected — not yet published as at the last-verified date | ESMA AIFMD reporting page |
| 16 Apr 2027 | Deferred application date: the amended Article 24 AIFMD and new Article 20a UCITS reporting obligations apply (Directive Art 3, second subparagraph — the measures transposing Art 1(12) and Art 2(7) as regards Art 20a). Also the end of the one-year LMT-RTS transitional for pre-16 Apr 2026 funds, and the deadline for ESMA's reporting technical standards | ⏳ Ahead | EUR-Lex, Art 3 |
| 16 Apr 2029 | End of the loan-origination grandfathering window for pre-15 Apr 2024 AIFs that kept raising capital; ESMA's delegation-practices report to Parliament/Council/Commission also lands here | ⏳ Ahead | EUR-Lex · Macfarlanes on the transitionals |
Transposition status by jurisdiction
| Jurisdiction | Instrument | Status as at 2026-07-05 | In force / applies | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luxembourg | Law of 3 March 2026 amending the UCI Law (17 Dec 2010) and the AIFM Law (12 Jul 2013) — Bill 8628 | ✅ Transposed on time, no gold-plating reported | 16 Apr 2026 (published 9 Mar 2026) | CSSF operationalised day one: eDesk LMT-selection filings were due by 16 Apr 2026 (module open 23 Mar), the LMT-activation module opened 16 Apr 2026, and Circular 25/901 (19 Dec 2025) had already realigned the SIF/SICAR/Part II product framework. Sources: CSSF communication 18 Mar 2026 · CSSF 25/901 · Ashurst |
| Ireland | S.I. No. 181 of 2026 + revised Central Bank AIF Rulebook (CP162) | ✅ Transposed — late | S.I. in operation 1 May 2026; Rulebook applies 5 May 2026 | The Rulebook revision goes beyond transposition — it also carries Funds Sector 2030 modernisation (notably a full rewrite of the loan-origination chapter for private-credit ELTIFs/RIAIFs/QIAIFs). For the 16 Apr – 1 May gap, the directive's obligations existed at EU level but the Irish instrument wasn't yet in operation. Sources: S.I. 181/2026 · AIF Rulebook May 2026 · CP162 feedback statement |
| UK | None — AIFMD II is not being transposed. The UK keeps its onshored AIFMD (AIFM Regulations 2013 + FCA FUND sourcebook) while HMT/FCA design a replacement regime | 🔀 Diverging by design | HMT consultation + FCA Call for Input closed 9 Jun 2025; draft statutory instrument and FCA rules consultation signalled for 2026 | Direction of travel is deregulatory, not convergent: the AUM-based thresholds go, replaced by three NAV bands (>£5bn · £100m–£5bn · ≤£100m) with proportionate rulebooks. UK AIFMs marketing into the EU are third-country managers under the new Art 42 conditions (below). Sources: HMT consultation · FCA CfI · FCA AIFMD (UK) page |
| Jersey & Guernsey | N/A — third countries; nothing to transpose | ➖ Affected via market access, not law | New Art 42 NPPR conditions apply from 16 Apr 2026 as member states transpose | AIFMD II rewrites the national-private-placement conditions: the old FATF non-cooperative test is deleted and replaced by two EU lists — the manager/fund must not sit in an EU AML high-risk third country, nor in Annex I of the EU tax non-cooperative list, plus a tax information-exchange agreement with each marketing state. Neither island is on either list (per industry analysis as at the last-verified date — see To verify). Sources: Directive 2024/927 · Jersey Finance analysis |
The one-line read: Luxembourg landed on time with the filing plumbing already open; Ireland landed two weeks late but used the same instrument to modernise its private-credit rulebook; the UK is deliberately walking the other way; the islands watch the Art 42 lists, not the transposition tables.
The change areas — what applies from when
| Change area | Applies from | Level 2 status |
|---|---|---|
| Loan origination (leverage caps, concentration, retention, closed-ended default) | 16 Apr 2026 — with grandfathering to 16 Apr 2029 for pre-15 Apr 2024 AIFs | Open-ended LO-AIF RTS: draft final (Oct 2025), Commission adoption pending |
| Liquidity management tools (select ≥2, policies, notification) | 16 Apr 2026; existing funds get to 16 Apr 2027 to align with the RTS | RTS adopted 17 Nov 2025; ESMA guidelines finalised (Dec 2025 report), application date to verify |
| Delegation (notification, substance, oversight) | 16 Apr 2026; delegation reporting rides the 2027 reporting wave | ESMA delegation report due 16 Apr 2029 |
| Supervisory reporting (the new Annex IV + UCITS Art 20a) | 16 Apr 2027 (the Art 3 carve-out) | RTS/ITS not yet drafted — ESMA consultation expected H2 2026, standards due 16 Apr 2027 |
| Depositaries (cross-border appointment, CSDs in the custody chain) | 16 Apr 2026 | No pending RTS; depositary-passport question parked for a future review |
| Ancillary services, white-label conflicts, marketing | 16 Apr 2026 | Level 1 only |
| Third-country / NPPR conditions (Art 42) | 16 Apr 2026, per member state as transposed | Driven by the live EU AML and tax lists, which move on their own cycles |
Loan origination — the biggest structural change
AIFMD II inserts an EU-wide regime into Article 15 AIFMD for AIFs that originate loans: leverage capped at 175% of NAV for open-ended and 300% for closed-ended loan-originating AIFs (commitment method); a 20% concentration limit per borrower where the borrower is a financial undertaking, an AIF or a UCITS; a 5% risk-retention requirement on loans transferred to third parties; a ban on originate-to-distribute strategies; and a default that loan-originating AIFs are closed-ended unless the AIFM can demonstrate a liquidity system compatible with an open-ended structure — the demonstration whose detail sits in the still-unadopted ESMA RTS (Directive 2024/927; ESMA final report, Oct 2025).
The grandfathering does the heavy lifting for existing credit funds (Macfarlanes; Arthur Cox): an AIF constituted before 15 April 2024 that raised no further capital after that date is deemed compliant indefinitely; one that kept raising capital is deemed compliant with the leverage and concentration limits only until 16 April 2029 — and if it already exceeds a limit, it may not increase the excess in the meantime. Loans originated before 15 April 2024 stay outside the origination rules. In the ESMA liquidity RTS for open-ended LO-AIFs, the final draft dropped the prescriptive minimum-liquid-asset bucket in favour of an outcome test, and cut mandated stress-testing frequency from quarterly to at least annual (final report).
Liquidity management tools — live now, with a filing attached
Every open-ended AIF (and UCITS) must select at least two LMTs from the harmonised list in the new Annex V, points 2–8 — gates, extension of notice periods, redemption fees, swing pricing, dual pricing, anti-dilution levies, redemption in kind — with suspension (point 1) and side pockets (point 9) available in addition rather than counting toward the two. Money market funds may select just one; redemption in kind is restricted to professional investors; and a selection consisting solely of swing pricing plus dual pricing is not accepted (Directive 2024/927, Art 16 / Annex V as inserted; CSSF communication). Activation and deactivation of certain tools must be notified to the home regulator. The Level 2 detail — what each tool must look like — is in the two delegated regulations the Commission adopted on 17 November 2025, with funds constituted before 16 April 2026 given until 16 April 2027 to conform (Walkers; ESMA RTS final report). ESMA's accompanying guidelines on selecting and calibrating the tools were revised in a December 2025 report (ESMA). Luxembourg turned the selection into a dated regulatory filing (eDesk, due 16 Apr 2026); Ireland folded the equivalent into the revised Rulebook and CP162 feedback.
Delegation and substance — notification now, data later
Delegation survives — the directive expressly keeps the model workable — but with more plumbing: fuller notification of delegation arrangements at authorisation, extension of the delegation rules to all Annex I functions and ancillary services, a minimum-substance expectation of at least two full-time EU-domiciled natural persons conducting the business, and — the sleeper — delegation data inside supervisory reporting (who the delegates are, what was delegated, how much of the portfolio), which arrives with the 2027 reporting wave, not in 2026. ESMA reports on delegation practices by 16 April 2029 (Directive 2024/927).
Supervisory reporting — the two-step everyone underestimates
The reporting amendments (Article 24 AIFMD, new Article 20a UCITS — the first-ever UCITS supervisory reporting regime) are the one block Article 3 defers to 16 April 2027. The scope expands materially: reporting on all markets, instruments and exposures (not the "principal" ones), delegation arrangements, and the full liquidity picture. But the templates that give this shape are an ESMA RTS/ITS due by 16 April 2027, with the consultation expected in H2 2026 (ESMA AIFMD reporting page; PwC Luxembourg analysis). Practically: reporting teams face a spec that doesn't exist yet, for a deadline that does.
Open items — the Level 2 scoreboard
| Workstream | Where it stands (2026-07-05) | Next milestone |
|---|---|---|
| LMT RTS (2 delegated regulations) | Adopted by the Commission 17 Nov 2025; Parliament/Council scrutiny → OJ publication (status under verification) | In-force date; transitional runs to 16 Apr 2027 |
| LMT guidelines (selection & calibration) | ESMA report on amended guidelines published Dec 2025 | Translations + formal application date (to verify) |
| Open-ended loan-originating AIF RTS | ESMA final draft delivered Oct 2025. Law-firm reporting of a 6 Oct 2025 Commission communication says this RTS sits in a batch of ~115 deemed "non-essential", not to be adopted before 1 Oct 2027 — meaning open-ended credit funds may run on the Level 1 test alone for 18+ months (unconfirmed against the Commission source — see To verify) | Commission adoption |
| Reporting RTS/ITS (new Annex IV + UCITS Art 20a) | Not yet consulted on; ESMA consultation expected H2 2026 | ESMA deadline 16 Apr 2027; obligations apply from the same date |
| ESMA report on costs/fees charged to investors (Art 12 workstream) | Due 16 Oct 2025 per the directive; publication not yet located | To verify |
| ESMA delegation-practices report | Not started (by design) | 16 Apr 2029 |
| UK replacement regime | HMT/FCA consultations closed 9 Jun 2025; draft SI + FCA rules consultation signalled for 2026 — not yet sighted | Draft SI + FCA CP (expected 2026); implementation later |
What this means at the desk
Three practical reads. First, the deadline already split into three: 16 April 2026 (conduct rules, LMT selection, loan-origination limits), 16 April 2027 (reporting, plus LMT-RTS conformance for existing funds), 16 April 2029 (credit-fund grandfathering ends, delegation review). Budget them as three projects, not one. Second, transposition lag is real but narrow: Ireland's instrument arrived 1 May 2026 — if you documented AIFMD II compliance decisions for an Irish AIFM in the last two weeks of April, note which legal basis you were relying on at the time. Third, the UK divergence cuts both ways: UK managers escape AIFMD II's obligations but keep none of its rights — into the EU they are third-country managers under the new Art 42 conditions, exactly like a Jersey or Guernsey manager, while their domestic rulebook is about to be rewritten on a different chassis entirely.
The practical gotcha: the reporting build is the one with a hard date and no spec — the new Annex IV applies from 16 April 2027, the templates are due from ESMA the same day, and the consultation hasn't opened. If your Annex IV vendor hasn't shown you an AIFMD II gap analysis by the time the ESMA consultation lands, the 2027 date is their problem arriving on your desk.
To verify
- LMT delegated regulations — OJ status: adopted 17 Nov 2025; confirm Official Journal publication, the regulation numbers, and exact entry-into-force dates.
- Commission "non-essential RTS" deferral: the claim that the open-ended loan-originating AIF RTS falls in a batch of ~115 RTS not to be adopted before 1 Oct 2027 comes from law-firm summaries of a reported 6 Oct 2025 Commission communication — locate and confirm the Commission source and whether this RTS is actually in scope.
- Luxembourg law — official reference: confirm the exact Legilux (Mémorial A) citation for the law of 3 March 2026 and link it directly.
- Ireland S.I. 181/2026 — making date: the instrument came into operation 1 May 2026; confirm the signing date and exact title text against the Irish Statute Book (automated access to irishstatutebook.ie was blocked at last verification).
- ESMA LMT guidelines application date: the amended-guidelines report is dated Dec 2025; confirm when the guidelines formally apply (translation publication + the usual 2-month compliance window).
- ESMA Art 12 cost report: due 16 Oct 2025 under the directive — confirm whether it was published and where.
- EU AML / tax list status of Jersey, Guernsey and the UK: "on neither list" is per industry analysis — verify against the current consolidated EU AML high-risk list and the latest Council conclusions Annex I before relying on it for an NPPR filing.
- Other member states' transposition: this page tracks LU and IE in depth; a fuller EU transposition scoreboard (and any Commission infringement steps against late transposers) is a planned addition.
- UK draft SI: confirm whether HM Treasury's draft statutory instrument or the FCA's rules consultation has been published since this page's last-verified date.
Changelog
- 2026-07-05 — page created. Timeline, transposition table and change areas built from Directive (EU) 2024/927 (EUR-Lex), ESMA final reports (LMT RTS Apr 2025 · open-ended LO-AIF RTS Oct 2025 · amended LMT guidelines Dec 2025), CSSF law-of-3-March-2026 communication + Circular 25/901, Irish S.I. 181/2026 + Central Bank AIF Rulebook (May 2026) + CP162 feedback statement, HMT/FCA April 2025 consultation pair, with law-firm secondary sources marked as such.