July 2015 - European fund industry news

The month in the European fund industry

Consultation on a pan-European personal pension product

On 7 July, EIOPA, the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority, published a consultation paper on the creation of a standardised pan-European personal pension (PEPP).

PEPPs are to be a long-term retirement savings product to encourage EU citizens to save for an adequate retirement income by creating a simple, transparent, cost-effective and trustworthy product. EIOPA suggests the creation of a harmonised legal framework that would ensure a level playing field between all providers and remove existing barriers to cross-border business.

The consultation period ends on 5 October and EIOPA will hold a public hearing on 7 September.

ESMA advises on extension of AIFMD passport to non-EU jurisdictions

On 30 July, the European Securities and Markets Authority published its long-awaited advice on passporting under AIFMD (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive) for non-EU fund managers and funds.

It concluded that the passport can be extended to Guernsey and Jersey, with the addition of  Switzerland after pending legislation is passed. No definitive view was reached on Hong Kong, Singapore and the USA.

ESMA also published its opinion on the functioning of passports for EU fund managers.

Both documents will now be considered by the European Commission, Parliament and Council.
 

FATCA reporting deadline in Luxembourg postponed to 31 August

Initially foreseen for the end of June and then delayed to 31 July, the deadline for the first FATCA reporting has been further postponed to 31 August..

This postponement is due to slight delays in the publication of the related FATCA law, although by 29 July it had been published in the Luxembourg official gazette.

Additional information on this reporting can be found on the FATCA page of the Luxembourg tax authority (in French).

On a related note, on 6 July, ALFI, the Luxembourg fund association, issued a second Q&A document in the context of FATCA.

Fundsquare is a mandatory channel to transmit the FATCA reports for Luxembourg entities.

ESMA updates and consultations

On 23 July, ESMA launched a consultation on proposed guidelines on remuneration policies under the UCITS V directive. These guidelines cover elements such as performance pay and bonuses of asset management companies.

This consultation also proposes a revision of the existing remuneration guidelines for the AIFMD in order to converge remuneration polices for alternative funds and UCITS. The consultation is open until 23 October.

In July, ESMA published the responses that it received from its consultation on guidelines for the assessment of knowledge and competence in the conext of MiFID II.

On 21 July, it published updates to the Q&As on the application of the AIFMD.

Fund industry publications in July

Publications of note during the month included:

• The annual report of the European Fund and Asset Management Association
• The 2015 edition of a PwC poster on European ETF listing  and distribution in Europe
• A framework for due diligence information packs for service providers from ALFI
• A market development report on European cross-border pension activities from EIOPA.

There were also a number of interesting survey results released in July:

• State Street released its 2015 asset manager survey
• Towers Watson issued the 2015 edition of its global alternatives survey
• Deloitte published the results of its survey on AIFMD reporting
• Preqin issued a special reported on AIFMD in the hedge fund industry.
   

_{Published on: 30 July 2015}

Fundsquare News 22 - July 2015