EFAMA has released today a new issue of its Market Insights series titled “UCITS ETFs: A growing market in volatile times”.
EFAMA has released today a new issue of its Market Insights series titled “UCITS ETFs: A growing market in volatile times”.
As the US moves to a T+1 settlement cycle from May 2024, the settlement mismatch between the US and EU will raise operational challenges as well as, we suspect, market structure changes. But another direct consequence of the mismatch will be in the enforcement of current EU regulation. In this paper, we identify those scenarios where EU rules will be tested, suggest the scope of that impact and ask policymakers to explore how the regulatory impacts of US T+1 can be mitigated.
As the EU Member States conclude technical discussions around the AIFMD & UCITS review, EFAMA would like to congratulate the European Commission and the co-legislators for keeping the key elements of both Directives intact during their review. These frameworks lie at the core of a well-functioning and resilient funds market and this agreement is a welcome step forward for the funds industry, investors and the Capital Markets Union project.
EFAMA has today published its latest monthly Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet, which provides net sales data on UCITS and AIFs for August 2023, at European level and by country of fund domiciliation.
The EU’s Listing Act is a key legislative initiative aimed at enhancing the appeal of EU public markets and facilitating capital access for small-medium enterprises (SMEs). That includes a new proposal by the European Commission for a Multiple Voting Shares Directive (MVSD). EFAMA believes it is of key importance to the European economy to ensure that EU capital markets remain attractive and competitive globally, therefore getting these types of initiatives right is crucial.
EFAMA appreciates the European Commission's efforts to bolster the Capital Markets Union and increase the appeal and competitiveness of public capital markets. However, the investment industry wishes to highlight some concerns concerning this Directive. Against this backdrop, it is important to note that the European Union has recently enhanced its corporate governance and shareholders’ engagement practices to fortify financial market stability, uphold capital market integrity and safeguard investors’ interests.
The European Parliament and Council are currently finalising their views on the European Commission’s anti-money laundering (AML) package proposal. In addition to the much publicized debate around the location of the new AML Authority, there are even more important elements being discussed which aim to curb money laundering and counter the financing of terrorism (CFT).
EFAMA has published its latest monthly Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet, which provides net sales data on UCITS and AIFs for July 2023, at European level and by country of fund domiciliation.
EFAMA supports the initiatives launched by IOSCO and other regulators (e.g. ESMA, FCA, SEC) to analyse and address the significant issues concerning market data in the secondary equity market.
EFAMA believes that ESMA’s draft ‘marketing communication’ Guidelines still require important clarifications to ensure full alignment between them and MiFID II’s Commission Delegated Regulation Article 44. This alignment is essential to ensure coherent rules for fund management companies and distributors. Unfortunately, parts of the proposed Guidelines are overly prescriptive and may unintentionally make some marketing materials vaguer or even inconsistent with local MiFID requirements for distributors.
Investors would benefit from an EU legal framework with due diligence guidelines and reporting requirements for companies in the real economy. This framework should be consistent with the reporting requirements in the revised NFRD and the disclosures in the Sustainability-Related Disclosures regulation (SFDR). At the same time, any framework for supply chain due diligence should not impose a competitive disadvantage for EU companies.
EFAMA supports the main objectives of CSDR to increase the safety and efficiency of securities settlement, including:
- Shorter settlement periods,
- Prudential and supervisory requirements for CSDs and other institutions providing banking services ancillary to securities settlement,
- The imposition of a penalty regime under CSDR as an important step towards improving settlement efficiency in European capital markets.
A flawed review process not tackling the heart of the issue
EFAMA has always made it clear that a revision of the PRIIPs Regulatory Technical Standard (RTS) falls short of conducting a proper Level 1 review. A review that is explicitly required by the Level 1 Regulation and is overdue for more than one year.
The AIFMD is one of the pillars of EU regulation for investment funds, which will be crucial to the development of the Capital Markets Union (CMU) and the post Covid-19 economic recovery in the European Union.
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Trends in European investment funds (EFAMA Fact Book 2024 release on 18 JUN 2024)