March 2015 - European fund industry news

The European fund industry in March

European Parliament reaches agreement on long term investment funds

On 10 March, the European Parliament reached agreement on the new framework for European Long Term Investment Funds (ELTIFs).

ELTIFS are aimed at investment fund managers who want to offer long-term investment opportunities to institutional and retail investors across Europe. They will invest assets such as infrastructure, transport, intellectual property and sustainable energy projects.

The ELTIF structure was initially proposed by the European Commission in June 2013 and is part of the measures to boost non-bank financing in Europe.

EFAMA makes recommendations for European personal pensions

Following extensive consultation, the asset management industry, the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) published recommendations for a new EU-wide pension product on 4 March.

According a survey conducted by EFAMA, 100% of asset managers would want to take part in a European personal pension market as providers of investment solutions and that one-third of these would also wish to act as distributors.

ESMA updates and consultations

On 26 March, ESMA, the European Securities and Markets Authority published updates to its Q&As on AIFMD application and KIIDs. The AIFMD update included new information on reporting and notifications, among others.

On 10 March, the responses to the MiFID II consultation were released. Almost 200 responses were published.

Lastly, during the month, ESMA published a modified version of its 2015 work programme, revised “in light of the budget constraints that ESMA will operate under in 2015”.

ICAV law enacted in Ireland

On 4 March, the law on the new fund structure in Ireland, the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (ICAV) was enacted.

A few days after this, the Irish fund association reported that the first ICAV had been created.

Fund industry publications in March

ALFI, the Luxembourg fund association held its annual spring conference during the month and a number of publications were released to coincide with it (a summary of the event is here).

Firstly, ALFI launched a new site to inform and educate investors called Understanding Investing. A series of easy-to-understand podcasts explain investment clearly from the basics.  It also explains the structure of funds and how they are regulated.

• KPMG and ALFI released the third edition of the European responsible investing fund survey.
• PWC Luxembourg published the 2015 editions of its posters on global fund distribution and European institutional investors.

Other publications of interest during the month included:

• A report entitled Growing Up - A New Environment for Hedge Funds from AIMA, KPMG and the Managed Funds Association.
• A report on retail customer experiences when buying financial products, with some findings relevant to investment fund distribution, published by Experian.
   

_{Published on: 31 March 2015}

Fundsquare News 18 - March 2015