The European Union’s (EU) Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (Directive or AIFMD) comes into force July 2013 and is likely to impact every private fund manager worldwide who either markets a fund into the EU or manages certain EU funds after that date.  The preparation required can be significant, and this two-part series is designed to help non-EU private fund managers understand the steps they must take to prepare for effectiveness of the AIFMD.  Part one provides an overview of what is widely referred to as the Directive’s “Stage I.”  During Stage I, non-EU managers will not be fully authorized under the Directive, but nonetheless can be subject to many parts of the Directive as a result of their activities touching the EU.  Part two (to be published in an upcoming issue of the Hedge Fund Law Report) looks ahead to “Stages II and III,” which come into effect in 2015 or later.  Those later stages contemplate a transition to full authorization under the Directive by all fund managers that are subject to the Directive’s jurisdiction.  The authors of the series are John Adams, counsel in the Asset Management Group at Shearman & Sterling LLP; Nathan Greene a partner and Co-Practice Group Leader in Shearman’s Asset Management Group; Christian Gloger, a senior associate in the Group; and Christine Ballantyne-Drewe, an associate in the Group.