Non-Norwegian asset managers marketing funds into Norway on a cross-border basis have so far not been subject to any administrative fees by Finanstilsynet, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (“FSAN”). FSAN has recently proposed to introduce fees for some managers. It is likely that implementation, if proposal is adopted by the MoF, will be as soon as practically possible.

UCITS/AIF

The Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (“FSAN”) has proposed the following fees for marketing in Norway:

Registration fees

• UCITS (per notification) – NOK 5 000
• EEA AIF (EEA AIFM) – NOK 5 000
• Non-EEA AIF (and feeder to such) by EEA AIFM (Article 36) – NOK 10 000
• Non-EEA AIF by non-EEA AIFM (Article 42) – NOK 15 000
• AIFs to non-professional investors – NOK 20 000
• AIFs subject to the Investment Fund Act (open- ended AIFs) – NOK 15 000

Annual fees

• UCITS (per notification) – NOK 7 000
• EEA AIF (EEA AIFM) – NOK 7 000
• Non-EEA AIF (and feeder to such) by EEA AIFM (Article 36) – NOK 7 000
• Non-EEA AIF by non-EEA AIFM (Article 42) – NOK 7 000
• AIFs to non-professional investors – NOK 7 000
• AIFs subject to the Investment Fund Act (open- ended AIFs) – NOK 5 000

As FSAN operates on a cost-coverage basis, the above fees may change annually, within a window of NOK 5 000 – NOK 30 000 for registration fees and a maximum of NOK 10 000 for annual fees.

Additional services subject to fee-proposal

• Tied insurance intermediaries (i.e. insurance agents) on non-Norwegian insurance companies (without any branch in Norway) shall be registered with the FSAN. It is proposed to introduce a registration fee of NOK 5 000, and an annual fee of NOK 10 000.
• Tied agents/appointed representatives of non-Norwegian investment firms shall be registered with the FSAN. The FSAN proposes to introduce a registration fee of NOK 5 000, and an annual fee of NOK 10 000.

FSAN also considered introducing administrative fees for cross border management by foreign fund managers into Norway, but concluded that this would not be in accordance with the EEA Agreement.

Timing

The proposal is subject to a hearing process, with a deadline of 10 March 2020. FSAN has stated that the aim is to introduce the new administrative charges as soon as practically possible. As the proposed fees will require amendments to the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Act 1956 and related regulations, it is expected that the proposal will not become effective until earliest 1 July 2020.

Please contact Peter Brechan if you have any questions regarding the above. He can be contacted on p.brechan@haavind.no or +4792284444.