The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) replied on Friday 17 March 2017 to the European Commissions CMU Mid-Term Review consultation.

The response is a reminder of the asset management industrys views on the many CMU initiatives. Much remains to be done to achieve the CMUs ambitious objectives, but EFAMA welcomes the new impetus brought to the overall project.

Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, commented: This consultation is a golden opportunity to voice once again the European asset management industrys strong support for all dimensions of the CMU: strong focus on investors interests, promotion of a market-based financing of the economy, development of a PEPP and development of a comprehensive strategy on sustainable finance.

End-investors interests need to be at the heart of any EU initiative. EFAMA supports investor-centric legislation and investor education as two sides of the same coin, and firmly encourages the European Commission and the ESAs to promote both further.

EFAMA would also reiterate the view that investment funds are a success story which can inspire a well-functioning EU Single Market in other areas. UCITS is a very good example of that. We would therefore encourage the European Commission to pave the way for further deepening the Single Market for investment funds and removing remaining barriers. This is essential to provide a larger and more diversified choice of investment and saving opportunities for European citizens, increase competition in the markets, allow for further innovation and reduce the costs and fees.

EFAMA reaffirms its strong support for the Commissions continued efforts to improve the Single Market for retail financial services. Retail investors need to be provided with better access to the capital markets in order to create potential for citizens savings, which are currently under-exploited.

In line with this, EFAMA appreciates the Commissions persistent efforts to create an EU Single Market for personal pensions.

Alexander Schindler, EFAMA President, commented: We firmly believe that European households and savers need to be encouraged to save more for retirement. The creation of a Pan-European Personal Pension product (PEPP) would increase choices for retirement savings, trigger a shift of retail savings into capital markets and would contribute to growth and investment within the Capital Markets Union. For EU citizens, this would ensure delivery of cost-efficient, simple and portable personal pensions. Providers would be able to offer similar products within a wide range of Member States, which should lead to economies of scale, lower costs and increased competition.

EFAMA is also very supportive of the CMUs focus on sustainable finance. Citizens and companies are increasingly committed to addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) challenges in their investments. Asset managers, as the linchpin between investors savings and the real economy, have a crucial role to play in providing the tools and advice for selecting responsible investments.

Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, said: Asset managers want to continue playing a part in the changing landscape towards a more capital market based economy. We stand ready to continue the open and constructive dialogue with EU institutions to build a well-functioning Capital Markets Union.

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For media enquiries, please contact:
Peter De Proft,Director General
Telephone: +32 (0) 2 513 39 69
E-mail: info@efama.org

EFAMA is the representative association for the European investment management industry. EFAMA represents through its 28 member associations and 61 corporate members close to EUR 23 trillion in assets under management of which EUR 14.1 trillion managed by 58,400 investment funds at end 2016. Just over 30,600 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) funds, with the remaining 27,800 funds composed of AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). For more information about EFAMA, please visit www.efama.org