Alternative Asset Management & Sustainability Insights

Sustainability issues are manageable: Policymakers and industry initiatives are clearing sustainability obstacles, but – although vital – these are usually not the main obstacle to defence investment in Europe. Due diligence challenges remain: Human rights and end-use risks cannot be fully eliminated, and governments and investors need to work hard to manage them. Commercial hurdles persist: The r...

Alternative Insights Summit 2026: In London last week, Travers Smith's clients and friends convened to discuss the key issues of the day in the private markets. Increasing access to private market returns: One theme was the need for UK pension funds to take more advantage of the returns available, while sponsors should approach the wealth market with transparency, good governance – and without ove...

Investors must face reality: A new report argues that a decade of disclosure targets and stewardship has failed to drive real-world decarbonisation, because technology development and government policy – not investor pressure – are the primary determinants of how quickly economies transition. Private markets have real advantages – but clear limits: A sponsors' greater agency over portfolio compani...

KEY INSIGHTS Governance creates value : Effective AI governance is not a compliance exercise – for private capital firms, it is a discipline central to value creation, which can be applied as rigorously to their own operations as to their portfolio companies. Humans must stay in control: An effective AI governance framework places human oversight and accountability at its core, with named individu...

KEY INSIGHTS EU is not retreating: Despite framing its agenda as simplification, the EU is rebuilding its environmental product regulation to be more digital, more enforceable and, in several areas, more consequential than before. Environmental regulation offers a strategic opportunity: The EU is recasting product rules as industrial policy, with significant implications for supply chain intensive...

Deregulation is gaining ground: On both sides of the Atlantic, regulators are shifting focus toward burden reduction — but concerns about increasing risks are also prominent. Systemic risk concerns are real but manageable: Legitimate questions about hidden credit problems, bank-fund linkages and the widening distribution of private markets products deserve scrutiny — but the risks are being active...

EU and UK rules still shifting: The EU's omnibus rollback has narrowed the scope of corporate sustainability reporting, but the standards themselves remain unfinished and last-minute changes to improve alignment with international frameworks could prove contentious. SFDR reform sidelines private markets: Member states are divided on key aspects of the Commission's proposed SFDR overhaul, with enga...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at non-financial misconduct, and how accountability drives culture. FCA sharpens oversight: The UK regulator is finalising new rules on non-financial misconduct, extending its scrutiny beyond the office and setting clearer standards for personal and workplace behaviour. Manager accountability grows: Managers must actively...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Sustainability Insights, we are looking at the UK's rollout of sustainability disclosure standards. The EU's sustainability omnibus is finally passed: The European Union has finalised its dramatic reforms to sustainability reporting rules, hitting fewer private companies and relaxing several related obligations. The UK confirms a cautious roll out: The UK’s...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at UK regulator's client categorisation rules and their effect on firms looking to access individual investors. Wealthy individuals targeted: In Europe, policymakers and larger private fund managers are adapting rules and processes to attract more high-net-worth investors, while acknowledging that managing investor protec...

SFDR 2.0: Six fixes for private markets Current SFDR 2.0 proposals risk sidelining private funds—imposing impractical rules, stifling innovation, and missing the unique strengths of private capital. Is the EU about to bake greenhushing into law? What’s at stake for private funds? Proposals that overlook private markets: The draft framework applies retail-focused logic to all, missing how private m...

This week we are taking a special look at the issues that will shape private capital in the year ahead. You can read our full analysis of those legal, regulatory and tax headwinds in our new publication Insights 26 . Links: PEI Group data partner for growth Insights '26 the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive securitisation regime h...

In his week's issue of Travers Smith's Sustainability Insights, we are looking at the agreed reforms to the EU's sustainability disclosure rules. Links: our detailed briefing 2021 impact assessment

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at the Commission's SFDR proposal fails to deliver clarity. Links: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/finalised-sfdr-20-proposals/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/possible-changes-to-the-eu-sfdr-the-european-commission-seeks-views/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/k...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at the UK's strategy for private capital in the wake of the latest budget. Links: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/travers-smiths-alternative-insights-the-impact-of-uk-tax-policy/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/autumn-budget-2025/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at European fund labels. Links: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/draft-sfdr-20-proposals/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/sustainability-exchange-podcast/ https://uksif.org/uksif-pwc-report-uk-sdr-and-investment-labels-implementation-lessons-and-the-road-ahead/

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at the long term implications of the development of fund tokenisation. Links: https://www.fca.org.uk/publication/consultation/cp25-28.pdf https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/fca-measures-to-support-direct-2-fund-dealing-and-fund-tokenisation https://www.theia.org/sites/default/files/2023-11/UK%20Fun...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Sustainability Insights we are looking at human rights due diligence and defence investments. Links: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/travers-smiths-alternative-insights-private-markets-and-policy-goals/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/sustainability-and-security-investing-in-defence https://defence-indust...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at public private markets and how asset managers can influence them. Links: https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/video/80-of-draghi-investment-ask-will-come-from-private-capital-says-kkr/vi-AA1NlSif https://www.cityam.com/rishi-sunak-assures-city-that-bonfire-of-financial-services-regulations-post-brexit-is-around-the-corner/...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at transition plans in the UK.

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at transatlantic tax policy and the art of the deal. Links: https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/travers-smiths-alternative-insights-the-impact-of-uk-tax-policy/ https://www.traverssmith.com/knowledge/knowledge-container/new-uk-carried-interest-tax-regime-draft-rules-published/ https://www.traverssmi...

In June, the UK took the next step in its plan to adopt international sustainability reporting standards for UK businesses, publishing a key consultation document. On the same day, it launched a consultation on how to implement its manifesto commitment to mandate credible, Paris-aligned climate transition plans for FTSE 100 companies and UK-regulated financial services firms, including asset manag...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at the impact of Taxing financial services professionals in the UK. Links: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6735f4670b168c11ea82311d/Financial_Services_Growth___Competitveness_Strategy_-_Call_for_Evidence_.pdf https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-scrap-non-dom-tax-status-foreign-earnings-2024-03-06/ https://w...

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Sustainability Insights we are looking at the UK's adoption of ISSB standards.

In this week's issue of Travers Smith's Alternative Insights, we are looking at liquidity routes for portfolio companies before exit. Links: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/travers-smith_assetmanagement-privatecapital-markets-ugcPost-7341038259122126849-K5r1?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAANSBP8B6s50YH7QZ6bxZ_O1alhPfCdpZEM&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link https://www.tra...