Reporting requirements are the primary concern, cited by 40%, followed by risk management (30%), according to a survey conducted by KNEIP.
Third party supervision and staffing of the management company structure were worries for less than a fifth of AIFMs, 18% and 12% respectively.
EU member states must include the AIFMD under national law from 22nd July, after which time AIFMs must report more than 130 pieces of data at both the fund manager and fund specific level to regulators on a quarterly basis.
Until now the alternatives industry has lacked formal reporting requirements, so many fund managers have limited back office resources. The survey found 77% of AIFMs are either considering outsourcing, or have already outsourced, their reporting functions to a third party.
Mario Mantrisi, chief strategy and research officer at KNEIP, said: “The key challenge facing AIFMs is how best to collect the data required by the regulators. Organising different workflows and developing a streamlined procedure for each stage of data collection can be a time consuming and potentially costly enterprise. As a result, it is no surprise that so many fund managers are considering outsourcing their process altogether.
Last month the treasury announced fund managers new funds would be able to market as normal for the first year following the AIFMD becoming law. Find out what hedge fund managers had to say about the move.
