In our latest Monthly Statistical Release, we show the following main developments in December 2023 for the European investment fund market. A first overview and analysis of the full year 2023 is also included.
In our latest Monthly Statistical Release, we show the following main developments in December 2023 for the European investment fund market. A first overview and analysis of the full year 2023 is also included.
Regulation for other kinds of ESG data products still missing.
European fund body asks UK regulator to further simplify recognition of EU retail funds
Joint letter asks European Commission to delay technical changes by supervisors until broader review of SFDR is complete
In a joint letter, EFAMA, together with the European Banking Federation (EBF), Insurance Europe, European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG), Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), and the European Association of Cooperative Banks, have released a joint letter asking the European Commission to better coordinate the publication of new rules for the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).
In our latest Monthly Statistical Release, we show the following main developments in November 2023 for the investment fund market:
New report calls for action to be taken to revive the Capital Markets Union project
This report analyses the progress made in recent years by European households in allocating more of their financial wealth to capital market instruments (pension plans, life insurance, investment funds, debt securities and listed shares) and less in cash and bank deposits. It also includes policy recommendations on improving retail participation in capital markets, including for the Retail Investment Strategy currently under discussion.
Some key findings include:
EFAMA has some concerns with ESMA’s clarifications. In the consultation paper (CP), ESMA seems to have a very broad interpretation of the ‘multilateral systems’ definition under MiFID II and states that ‘systems where trading interests can interact but where the execution of transactions is formally undertaken outside the system still qualify as a multilateral system and should be required to seek authorisation’ (paragraph 36).
We disagree with an extension of its scope to UCITS’ and AIFs’ management companies to the scope of the reporting requirements imposed by MiFIR, Art. 26. This extension would be in breach of the principle of proportionality, as:
Article 51(5) of the BMR provides that, unless the Commission has adopted an equivalence decision in relation to a particular third country, a third country administrator has been recognised or a third country benchmark has been endorsed, EU supervised entities may only use a third country benchmark in financial instruments, financial contracts and measurements of the performance of an investment fund that already reference the relevant benchmark prior to 31 December 2021.
EFAMA is grateful for the opportunity to comment on some messages included in the aforementioned roadmap. We believe that these comments should be made clear for all persons interested, especially to those who would like to participate in the upcoming public consultation.
Asset managers represent an important group of benchmark users, either in the case of index funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) - where benchmarks are used as a target for index tracking funds - or in the case of the evaluation of an active manager’s performance - where the fund performance is measured against a selected index or a set of indices.
EFAMA, the voice of the European investment management industry, believes that, for retail clients, standardised disclosure of information can improve the comparability of financial products that promote environmental and/or social characteristics or have a sustainable objective. It will also contribute to the broader policy objectives of the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) to enhance transparency towards end-investors, hold market participants accountable and fight greenwashing.
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Trends in European investment funds (EFAMA Fact Book 2024 release on 18 JUN 2024)