According to a report in the Financial Times, the industry is hoping that the publication of Esma rules restricting the activities of fund managers will give some indication as to what its wider approach will be.
"At the moment, the risk that people will ignore the EU and develop funds outside the EU looks very real," said Peter Astleford of London law firm Dechert. "It is also possible that AIFM will become a brand name similar to Ucits."
Esma assumed responsibilities from the Committee of European Securities Regulators in January and is expected to impose around 100 new measures to complement the AIFM directive.
Last week, Citigroup's global head of prime finance Nick Roe told Bloomberg that institutional investors were growing increasingly wary of start-up hedge funds, instead opting for more established names in the sector.
By Asim Shah