On May 27, the Council of the European Union adopted a directive to establish common requirements for the authorization and supervision of alternative investment fund managers (AIFM) and provide a coherent approach to risk management and the impact thereof on investors and markets in the European Union (EU). Key features of the directive include: (i) minimum capital requirements; (ii) requiring an AIFM to appoint independent depositories to ensure that a fund’s assets are appropriately protected; (iii) authorizing member states to establish leverage limits and requiring AIFM using leverage on a systematic basis to disclose aggregate leverage to their member state regulatory authority; (iv) authorization requirements for non-EU funds, managed by either EU AIFM or AIFM based outside of the EU; and (v) authorizing member states to exempt AIFM from compliance with the directive, though not from minimum registration and reporting requirements, if they have managed assets below €100 million, if they use leverage, or below €500 million, if they do not. Publication in the Official Journal is expected in mid-June. Council Press Release.