Skip to main content
Tag

EU

The Parliament of the European Union has approved the ‘Markets in Crypto Assets’ regulation
EU Parliament approves MiCA FinTechLegal Updates

EU Parliament approves MiCA

The European Parliament gave its final approval to the Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (‘MiCA’) on 20 April 2023. The regulation forms part of the EU’s broader digital financial package whose aim is to encourage the use of fintech while ensuring consumer protection and financial stability across the EU. MiCA is the first harmonised EU framework for regulating crypto-assets and is applicable across Member States without national transposition. The regulation introduces three sub-categories of crypto-assets, namely asset-referenced tokens, e-money tokens, and other crypto-assets, which includes utility tokens and other cryptocurrencies. MiCA has three distinct regulatory regimes for issuers of stablecoins, non-stablecoins,…
Mamo TCV Advocates
21st April 2023
AI systems are ultimately complex computer codes whose output reflects their input. If the inputted data contains human bias, the AI system tends to produce results which exacerbates existing biases. In this insight briefing, we analyse the effect that human bias in AI could have on EU investment funds.
AI & Funds #5 – Human Bias Investment Services & Funds

AI & Funds #5 – Human Bias

In an underground burial temple located within the EU’s southernmost State, one can find a primitive drawing of a spiralling never-ending red tree. Archaeologists opine that the millennia-old Saflieni Hypogeum’s ‘Tree of Life’ was painted to give meaning to death. There is no evidence that the Maltese prehistoric biosphere sustained red spiralling trees. If archaeologists did not inform us about this pictorial human bias, one might have assumed that never-ending trees did exist in Malta. Humans understand that trees are not never-ending and the red artefact is merely an imaginary depiction. On the other hand, Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) knows that…
Mario Mizzi
9th March 2023
The legal obligation to disclose information is a frequent occurrence in investment services laws. The draft framework for regulating artificial intelligence in the EU also puts vigorous emphasis on transparency. In this insight briefing, we compare the transparency obligations under the AIFMD with Article 52 of the draft EU AI Act to analyse the former’s adroitness for AI utilisation.
AI & Funds #4 – Transparency Obligations Investment Services & Funds

AI & Funds #4 – Transparency Obligations

In the ‘Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence’ (the “draft EU AI Act”), transparency is regulated by Article 13 and Article 52 thereof. The former applies to systems of Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) which are classified as high-risk and the latter applies to limited-risk AI systems. As explained in the previous briefing of this series of insights on AI and investment funds, the use of AI in investment services will generally fall under limited-risk AI systems. The reason being that high-risk AI systems as defined under the draft EU AI Act do not include AI systems…
Mario Mizzi
2nd March 2023
The proposed EU AI Act will provide for four risk classifications of artificial intelligence. Each classification will trigger different rules. In this insight briefing we analyse the use of AI in investment funds to determine which one of the four AI classifications would be applicable.
AI & Funds #3 – Risk Classifications Investment Services & Funds

AI & Funds #3 – Risk Classifications

If the draft EU regulation on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) titled ‘Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence’ (the “draft EU AI Act”) becomes law, investment funds could have an additional risk which would need consideration, namely, the AI risk. As outlined in previous briefings in this insight-series, the definition of AI as provided in Article 3 of the draft EU AI Act will be an umbrella term which includes machine-learning and algorithms which are already being used in the asset management industry according to a report1 by the European Securities and Markets Authority. The draft EU…
Mario Mizzi
23rd February 2023
In this insight briefing, we analyse the draft EU directive on non-contractual liability relating to AI and compare it with non-contractual liability in the UCITS V directive and the AIFMD to decipher how AI’s non-contractual liability can impact EU-licensed investment funds.
AI & Funds #2 – non-contractual liability Investment Services & Funds

AI & Funds #2 – non-contractual liability

In addition to the draft EU regulation on Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) titled ‘Proposal for a Regulation laying down harmonised rules on artificial intelligence’ (the “draft EU AI Act”), the EU Commission is also proposing a separate draft directive on non-contractual liability relating to AI titled ‘Proposal for a Directive on adapting non-contractual civil liability rules to artificial intelligence’ (the “draft AI Liability Directive”). Whilst the draft EU AI Act aims to define AI and mitigate risks by safeguarding fundamental rights in the use of AI within the EU, the draft AI Liability Directive sets forth provisions allowing persons to bring…
Mario Mizzi
16th February 2023
we share our insights on when the investment discretion shifts from humans to AI by analysing whether a legal definition of artificial intelligence has been determined.
AI & Funds #1 – investment discretion Investment Services & Funds

AI & Funds #1 – investment discretion

When one instructs a painter to draw a portrait (no matter how detailed the instructions may be) the painter will always have discretion in executing the final product. Likewise, in investment funds, the investment manager is instructed to invest according to various rules and timeframes which are detailed in the investment strategy as approved by the competent financial regulator, but there will still remain investment discretion on how the investment strategy is executed. This discretion is normally based on a number of statistically orientated formulas which analyses quantitative and qualitative data. Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) is being increasingly used in these…
Mario Mizzi
8th February 2023