The publication of the European Commission’s long-awaited EU Retail Investment Strategy is an important moment, as creating the necessary conditions to grow retail investor participation in capital markets is key for the future of both the European economy and EU citizens. Within the strategy, we see positive elements which the fund industry has long encouraged, such as digital-by-default disclosures, the preservation of both fee- and commission-based distribution models, and comparable rules for all types of investment products.

European asset managers continue to urge policymakers to support the European Parliament’s proposal for an Equities/ETFs consolidated tape which includes 5 layers of real-time pre-trade data.  Market participants, including the European buy and sell-sides have consistently maintained that a post-trade only equities/ETFs consolidated tape will not meet with the market demand required to make the tape commercially viable. Tanguy van de Werve, Director General of EFAMA, stated: “This would be a legislative se