No, you need the .xmpses file in the same folder as the .m2v you are importing. But this happens automatically if you don’t move anything.
For example, if you export video.m2v from PR or AME to the folder “asset files,” that export will also create the file video.xmpses in that same folder. When you import to Encore, it a) does not move video.m2v, just accesses it there, and b) reads the xmpses file in that folder.
Encore only creates transcode files in its own folder structure if you transcode in Encore.
Stan Jones