Why did EFAMA create a FPP Portal?

The existing FPPs will be made available by fund managers, national associations and the so-called FPP Primary Providers, i.e. Finesti, France FPP (AFG), FundConnect, KNEIP, OeKB and WM Datenservice, with whom fund managers have a contractual arrangement for the distribution, and possibly the distribution, of their FPPs.

The launch date for the Portal is 28 June 2010 noon.

More information on the FPP and the Portal functionalities is provided below.

What is the Fund Processing Passport? top

The FPP is a short, single, fully harmonized document containing all the key "operational" information that fund promoters should provide on their investment funds, at class level, in order to facilitate their trading. The information covered includes ISIN code, contact details, subscriptions/redemptions rules, settlement details, cut off times, etc.

The FPP has been drawn up from the viewpoint of all relevant professional players involved in the operational aspects of investment funds distribution: investor intermediaries, distributors, distribution platforms, and fund management companies and their service providers (transfer agents/registrars, fund accounting agents, trustees, custodians, portfolio managers).

The FPP is not intended to provide investors with information about the essentials they should know before investing in a fund. Therefore it serves a different purpose from the Simplified Prospectus and the Key Investor Information document. The FPP contains 105 fields of relevant operational information.

What is contained in the "105 operational fields"? top

One FPP should be prepared for each class of unit/share (for which an individual ISIN should have been allocated), in respect of its "home" market. The information covered includes ISIN code, contact details, subscription/redemption rules, settlement details, cut off times, etc.

The information required includes a list of 77 "Core Data" items, with 49 mandatory items and 28 optional items. Additional fields are also contained in the "Local Annexes". These are for country-specific information concerning the dealing/settlement arrangements for other markets where the class of unit/share is also distributed and also concerning dealing/settlement arrangements that could take place in the home market in different circumstances

What are the main benefits of the FPP? top

• Benefits for fund distributors:
• The FPP will:

• -- minimize redundancy checks, delays in processing transactions and errors in executing the orders
• 
  
• Benefits for fund managers:
• The FPP will:

• -- deliver higher quality service by making it easier to place a fund order
• -- speed up the treatment of fund orders
• -- push down processing costs
• -- promote the accessibility of standardized information.
• -- open the way to electronic communications of the FPPs and, thereby, to other opportunities of cost savings.

What is EFAMA's role in the FPP? top

EFAMA is committed to promote the adoption of the FPP by all players involved in fund processing in domestic and cross-border markets. In undertaking this challenge, EFAMA is pursuing two goals :

• Promoting the completion of an effective single market for investment funds
• Strengthening the competitiveness of the industry in terms of cost and quality

How can I produce FPPs for my funds? top

Regardless of the solution chosen, it is important to note that fund managers are the owners of their FPP. They are accountable for the content of their FPPs and responsible that their FPPs are up-to-date. A fund manager cooperating with an FPP Primary Provider should agree on the respective responsibilities of each party.

Fund managers producing FPPs themselves host them in their own databases. Fund managers delegating this function to an FPP Primary Provider have their FPPs held in the database of the FPP Primary Provider.

Related to the principle of FPP ownership is the principle of the golden copy of a FPP.A golden copy is the latest, most up-to-date, version of a FPP. It is this FPP that should be used for initiating any investment in the underlying sub-fund. The golden copy is held at the level of the FPP provider (i.e. the fund manager or the FPP provider) with whom a fund manager has a contractual arrangement for the distribution, and possibly the production, of its FPPs.

For more information on each of the current FPP Primary Providers, click on their respective logos at the top of this page.

What is the role of the six current "FPP Primary Providers"? top

The FPP Primary Providers (see the logos at the top of this page) have worked together with EFAMA in the creation of this Portal. They provide links to the FPPs for wich they maintain the golden copies.

They are also the institutions that are able to provide outsourcing solutions for the production and distribution of FPPs. In this sense, they are centralising agents for any investment fund wishing to have and disseminate FPPs.

In addition, FPP Primary Providers may offer a subscription mechanism allowing FPP users to define a set of requirements, e.g. format of FPP transmission, alerts of update of FPP or closure of FPP.

What is the liability for misrepresentation or wrong data? top

Fund managers are the owners of their FPPs. They are accountable for the content of their FPPs and responsible that their FPPs are up-to-date. In the case where a fund manager has outsourced part or all of FPP tasks to a "FPP Primary Provider", (such as a contractual arrangement for the distribution, and possibly the production, of its FPPs) liabilities and responsibilities should be agreed in advance by both parties.

 Related to the principle of FPP ownership is the principle of the golden copy of a FPP. A golden copy is the latest, most up-to-date, version of a FPP.  It is this FPP that should be used for initiating any investment in the underlying sub-fund. The golden copy is held at the level of the FPP provider ( i.e. the fund manager or the FPP Primary Provider).

What can I search on the Portal? top

Searches for FPPs can be carried out on one or many of the following criteria:

• -- ISIN
• -- Fund name
• -- Umbrella name
• -- Management company
• -- Last revision
• -- FPP Provider

How can I publish my FPPs on the Portal? top

There are two main types of companies that can publish FPPs on this Portal.
Publication can be carried out by any user account that is recognized as a FPP Provider either in the capacity as "Fund Manager" or "FPP Primary Provider".

The FPP Primary Provider is a company to which the Fund Manager has delegated all or part of the responsibilities for FPP publication (and possibly also FPP production).

It is important to note that FPPs are based on ISINs and only one provider (Fund Manager or FPP Primary Provider) can publish FPPs related to that ISIN.

Contact info@efama.org for more information about publication.

Can I access many FPPs automatically via the Portal? top

No. Users interested in downloading FPPs in some automated way (typically large distributors) will need to reach agreements with fund managers and/or the FPP providers. This approach has the advantage of preserving the role of these entities as guardians of the FPP Golden Copies.

To enhance efficiency in the automated access of FPPs, consideration will be given to agree on a standard of electronic distribution of FPPs by the FPP providers.

This EFAMA web page has been created specifically to make known publicly the ever-increasing series of policy and practice statements that go beyond what is required by law or regulation and aim to raise the practical standards within the European investment funds industry.

The best practice recommendations are based on internationally accepted rules. Nonetheless they leave room for the individual background in the various EFAMA member countries, be they large or small. The recommendations should contribute to the harmonisation of the business behaviour of the various European investment managers. They reflect demanding standards that are essential for companies operating in the European fund business, which should be characterised by the highest quality in terms of integrity and transparency. Managing money for third parties and having their trust requires fund managers to have sufficient organisational resources.

In this section:

Credit Rating Assessment Guidelines

• Simplified Prospectus
• Best Practice Recommendations

Credit Rating Assessment Guidelines

Asset Management Industry Guidelines to Address Over-Reliance upon Ratings
The Guidelines are a joint effort by EFAMA, the ESF and the IMA to provide guidance for asset managers on the responsible use of ratings for securitisation, structured finance and structured credit products.

EFAMA ESF IMA Credit Assessment Guidelines

Simplified Prospectus

• User Manual for the EFAMA Model Prospectus
• EFAMA Model Prospectus-Euro Stock Fund
• EFAMA Model Prospectus-Euro Bond Fund
• EFAMA Model Prospectus-Euro Money Market Fund

Best Practice Recommendations

EFAMA recommends the widespread use and regulatory endorsement of these models.

• A Code of Conduct for the European Investment Management Industry (Discussion Paper)
• Principles for the Transparency of Fees
• Investment Fund Managers as Shareholders
• Investment Policy Principles
• Principles for Business Transactions
• Code of Good Conduct on Performance
• FEFSI Report on the Use of the Internet

Fund Processing Standardization Group

EFAMA established in 2003 the Fund Processing Standardization Group (FPSG) with the aim of developing recommendations for improving efficiency in the cross-border processing of fund units and shares. The FPSG is chaired by Rudolf Siebel, who is Managing Director at BVI (Frankfurt). It is made up of expert practitioners representing the European investment funds industry, i.e. fund management companies, custodians, transfer agents, fund processing hubs and existing standard setting organizations.

The FPSG published its first set of recommendations in February 2005. An updated report was published in September 2008. This report consolidates the 2005 recommendations and extends them in three service areas: holding and transaction reporting, commission handling and settlement cycles.

In early 2007, EFAMA published the version 1.0 of the Fund Processing Passport, which had been outlined in the FPSG recommendations of 2005. To highlight the rationale for the FPP, EFAMA published a brochure in June 2007. In May 2008, EFAMA released a revised and improved version of the FPP, together with an updated version of its User Guide and formatting guidelines (see "Fund Processing Passport User Guide", version 2.0, Excel file)

EFAMA strongly believes that the FPSG recommendations, if embraced by the industry, will serve to converge towards industry-wide standards, thereby removing an important barrier to the development of harmonized processing of investment fund transactions in Europe.

EFAMA is the primary source for statistical data on the European investment fund industry.

It represents the interests of the European investment management industry (collective and individual portfolio management) with, through member associations from 24 countries and 42 corporate members, about EUR 13.5 trillion in assets under management of which EUR 7.3 trillion managed by around 51,000 investment funds at end March 2008.

On this page, you will find EFAMA's quarterly statistical releases on the trends in the European fund industry, EFAMA's World Statistics and special industry surveys.

The Fact Book offers comprehensive information on recent trends in the European investment fund industry and analyses a number of issues that are at the centre of the future development of the industry. Important trends relate to the growth perspectives of the industry, the role of investment funds in pension provision, the trend towards industry self-regulation and the progress towards the single market.

The Fact Book also includes:

· Comprehensive information on recent trends in the European investment fund industry.

· A pan-European perspective on a number of key themes for the industry.

· Reports on the investment fund market in each of the 24 European EFAMA member countries.

· A statistical section presenting historical data and assets under management of the largest European managers.

To place an order, please click here

This section contains information on the EU's legislative process and a repository of the most relevant EU legislation and rules for investment management.

 

The Community Legislative Process
This document aims to give a simplified overview of the "ways and means" through which European Union legislation is made. Given the supranational character of the EU this process is unique and varies from the legislative processes generally known at national level.

 

The Community Laws and Regulations

This section aims to facilitate in the search for EU legislation and other measures that are of importance and/or interest to the investment management industry.