For immediate release

EFAMA statement on ESMAs Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Financial Conduct Authority

Brussels, 1 February 2019 - EFAMA warmly welcomes the announcement by ESMA today of the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (UK FCA) with a view to havein place a framework for supervisory cooperation between ESMA, the EU 27 national competent authorities and the UK FCA, in the event of a Brexit.

Having such supervisory cooperation agreements in place is required under different EU legislations (such as UCITS or AIFMD) to make it possible to delegate portfolio or risk management to an entity in a third country, like the UK. Delegation is a reliable, well-functioning model, central to ensuring investors are provided with better value and choice.

Todays announcement was met with a sigh of relief by asset management companies on both sides of the Channel as it removes a great deal of legal uncertainty in their preparation for the worst case scenario of a no-deal Brexit.

Regulatory and supervisory cooperation between ESMA and the UK FCA is crucial and will require substantial resources to be dedicated on both sides. Such cooperation should drive mutual efforts to exchange information and data, and avoid unintended divergences in the implementation of future regulation between the EU and the UK potentially creating an accidental unlevel playing field.

Commenting on the conclusion of the MoU, EFAMAs Director General Tanguy van de Werve said: This is a very important step that EFAMA has been calling for many months, as it will help avoid disruptions in the provision of asset management activities. Ensuring that delegation continues to be authorised as it is today is of paramount importance to the asset management industry. It brings comfort to the industry in their Brexit contingency planning but, most importantly, it ensures that EU investors will continue to access world leading expertise in the management of their savings.

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Notes for editors
EFAMA is the voice of the European investment management industry, which represents 28 member associations and 62 corporate members. At end 2017, total net assets of European investment funds reached EUR 15.6 trillion. Close to 32,000 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) and close to 28,300 of these funds were AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). Including discretionary mandates, third-party regulated asset managers managed EUR 25 trillion in Europe at end 2017. For more information about EFAMA, please visit www.efama.org.

For media enquiries, please contact:

Tanguy van de Werve, EFAMA Director General
Telephone: +32 (0) 2 513 39 69 info@efama.org