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
The Commission aims to present a legislative proposal to address the tax-induced debt-equity bias, also to support the action plan for the Capital Markets Union and to encourage companies to finance their investment through equity contributions rather than through debt financing.
EFAMA provided high-level comments to the Commission’s consultation on the potential review of the Directive on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services.
We agree with the Commission’s interpretation that the Directive is seen as a “safety net” for financial services not already subject to product-specific legislation. Fund and asset managers are already subject to various, more stringent and detailed sectoral legislations, such as (but not limited to) UCITS, AIFMD and MiFID as well as the (more recent) Cross-Border Fund Distribution Directives.
The asset management industry recognises the much-needed adoption of mandatory European sustainability reporting standards under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal. Insufficient availability of meaningful, comparable, reliable, and public Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) data is a key impediment to realising the full potential of the EU's sustainable finance regulatory framework. Financial market participants' sustainable investments need to be driven by real, verifiable and reported ESG metrics of company's activities and financial risks.
Nine associations (AFME, AIMA, EAPB, EBF, EFAMA, FIA, ICI, ISDA, SIFMA AMG) welcome the Commission's decision to grant a time-limited equivalence decision in respect of UK CCPs. However, when this time-limited equivalence decision expires on 30 June 2022, there remains a significant risk of disruption to clearing for EU firms and to their access to global markets.
Given the increasingly important role ESG ratings and data products providers play in investment processes, EFAMA welcomes the increased attention of regulators to this issue. In light of the growing regulatory scrutiny on the ESG characteristics of potential investments, improving the usability and reliability of the ESG ratings and data products is a key priority for the European asset management industry.
The European Commission recently adopted amendments to the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation and the Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive. However, in contrast to earlier plans, the adoption of the revised Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) amending Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/653 has been postponed.
Discover the 6 reasons why your organisation should become a member of EFAMA.
Our members enjoy significant benefits including the opportunity to shape the industry positions, get first-hand access to regulatory and political intelligence, engage with industry peers and policymakers, and take part in EFAMA events.
Our three membership categories cater to the wide range of organisations that make up and support the investment management industry in Europe.