ESMA’s Call for Evidence on the UCITS Eligible Assets Directive is a welcome opportunity to take stock of the existing UCITS framework.
UCITS
UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) refers to the EU framework for harmonising the creation, management and marketing of collective investment schemes in the EU (and EEA) Member States. It places a strong focus on investors’ protection and product regulation. Owing to this harmonised framework, once UCITS funds are registered in one Member State, they can be freely marketed across the European Union. Initially adopted in 1985, the UCITS Directive has since been modified repeatedly, to take into account developments in financial markets.
EFAMA is adamant to protect the competitiveness and international appeal of UCITS.
High-level response to ESMA consultation on notifications for cross-border marketing and management of AIFs and UCITS
EFAMA welcomes the European Securities and Market Authority’s continuous commitment to creating a single market for investment funds, confirmed by the draft regulatory standards currently under consideration. These RTS/ITS would further harmonise information that asset managers should provide to their national competent authorities before marketing or managing an investment fund on a cross-border basis, thus facilitating intra-EU product distribution.
EFAMA reply to ESMA CP on marketing communications guidelines
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.
International statistics Q3 2020 | Global divergences in long term funds net sales in Q3 2020
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published its latest quarterly international statistics, tracking and analysing trends in worldwide regulated open-ended fund assets and flows for Q3 2020.
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European Statistics Q3 2020 | Net sales of long term funds remained robust in Q3 2020
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published its Quarterly Statistical Release describing the trends in the European investment fund industry
Monthly Statistics September 2020 | Steady inflows into UCITS equity funds in September
The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published its latest monthly Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet, which provides net sales data of UCITS and AIFs for September 2020*.
Bernard Delbecque, Senior Director for Economics and Research commented: Net inflows into UCITS equity funds remained steady in September despite concerns about rising Covid-19 infection rates and the potential impact of new lockdown measures.
The main developments in September 2020 can be summarised as follows:
Market Insights #18 - Sustainable Equity UCITS
This report looks specifically at the evolving trends of the equity asset class of sustainable UCITS, whose share is the highest (53%) in total sustainable UCITS funds. It highlights their role as investment vehicles in facilitating the green transition. The universe of sustainable equity UCITS funds is defined based on Morningstar’s classification of sustainable financial instruments1. This means funds must claim to have a sustainability objective, and/or use binding ESG criteria for their investment selection.
New rules for the AIFMD and UCITS Directive
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).
The costs of UCITS and US mutual funds | Market Insights | Issue #8
It is often argued that European citizens are not able to fully benefit from the single market for investment funds, on the basis that the cost of UCITS is higher than the cost of mutual funds in the United States (US). In this Market Insights, we analyse this question by carrying out a detailed comparison of the cost of UCITS and US mutual funds, taking into account the various ways of calculating costs as well as the differences between Europe and the US in the way investment funds are distributed.