The European Parliament today formalised its position on the Retail Investment Strategy, which significantly improves on the original European Commission proposal.
The European Parliament today formalised its position on the Retail Investment Strategy, which significantly improves on the original European Commission proposal.
Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta has released today his report on the future of the Single Market. Together with the recent statement of the Eurogroup in inclusive format on the future of CMU, and the upcoming report of Mario Draghi, there is increasing emphasis on EU competitiveness and the need to make urgent progress towards achieving a well-functioning Capital Markets Union to finance Europe’s necessary transitions.
The FCA’s recent report on the wholesale data market is an important and high-quality study which echoes many long-standing buy-side concerns. It finds evidence of unequal market power in terms of market concentration, highly profitable margins, opaque pricing practices, excessive charging, bundling practices and complex licensing agreements, all of which negatively impact data users. Much of this data is indispensable for users to stay in business and fulfil regulatory obligations.
“The European T+1 Industry Task Force welcomes the recent publication of a report by the Chair of the UK Accelerated Settlement Task Force, and in particular the statement that the “UK and other European jurisdictions should continue to explore opportunities for close collaboration…to see if they can align their moves to T+1.” The members of the European T+1 Industry Task Force emphasise the need for a coordinated approach between the EU/EEA, Switzerland and the UK.
New rules for the AIFMD and UCITS Directive were published on 26 March 2024 in the Official Journal of the European Union, making them law. These investment frameworks are European success stories and an integral part of the Capital Markets Union (CMU).
EFAMA has today published its latest Monthly Statistical Release for January 2024.
Thomas Tilley, Senior Economist at EFAMA, commented on the January 2024 figures: “January 2024 saw a continuation of the same trends as in 2023 - strong net inflows into fixed-income funds and ETFs. In comparison, multi-asset and equity funds saw much more subdued, or even negative, demand.”
EFAMA has published its latest International Quarterly Statistical Release for Q4 2023.
Thomas Tilley, Senior Economist at EFAMA, commented on the Q4 2023 figures: “Worldwide money market funds (MMFs) saw record net inflows of almost EUR 1.4 trillion over 2023, with about EUR 1 trillion of these net inflows in the United States. Many US investors were attracted by the higher returns offered by MMFs compared to bank deposits.”
EFAMA has released its policy recommendations to unlock private investment in Europe
EFAMA places huge importance on this revision of ESMA’s suitability guidelines, as they spell out in detail how investors can invest in sustainable investment products. If they are well designed, the guidelines have the potential to significantly boost capital flows towards sustainable investments; a goal that the European fund industry strongly supports.
EFAMA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the EC’s targeted consultation on the EU’s central clearing framework. We are pleased to find in this consultation document a fair reflection of the complexity of the CCP ecosystem and consistency with the issues raised in previous dialogues held with the European Commission. In that same spirit, we hope in our response to provide feedback that resonates with the EC’s broader policy objectives while minimizing systemic risk and undue harm to our industry.
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) welcomes the opportunity to respond to this important review of RTS 153/2013 and accompanying guidelines, in light of the procyclicality witnessed during the peak volatility of the Covid crisis. European CCPs already have standard anti-procyclicality tools in their rulebooks and this did lead to less volatile moves in margin in Europe versus other jurisdictions.
With the release of this proposal, the Commission is replicating the OECD / BEPS Inclusive Framework (OECD) Pillar Two Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Model Rules that came live in December 2021 and addresses how Member States will implement them in a coherent and consistent way across the EU. The work of the Commission and the alignment with the work of the OECD / BEPS Inclusive Framework are to be welcomed.
EFAMA fully supports the Commission’s initiatives to fight tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. The work of the technical teams that acknowledged our industry’s special requirements and the proposal of carve-out rules to protect investment structures and end-investors are, to a certain extent, to be welcomed.
EFAMA appreciates the opportunity to share our views on the European Commission’s consultation on enhancements to the suitability and appropriateness assessments forming part of the wider, upcoming Retail Investment Strategy.
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