In our latest Monthly Statistical Release, we show the main developments for the European investment fund market in December 2024 and include a first overview and analysis of the full year 2024.
In our latest Monthly Statistical Release, we show the main developments for the European investment fund market in December 2024 and include a first overview and analysis of the full year 2024.
Today, the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) published the 20th issue of its Market Insights series, titled “Beyond fund consolidation: a more promising strategy for bigger funds and faster cost declines in Europe”. This publication compares the size and number of equity UCITS with that of US equity mutual funds and challenges the commonly held belief that fund consolidation will significantly lower the cost of funds in Europe.
In its recently published market report on the costs and performance of EU retail investment products, ESMA asserts that there are “substantial differences in the fund cost level between the EU and the US”. In its accompanying press release, ESMA emphasizes that “the market inefficiencies revealed by this higher cost level show the need to focus on the competitiveness of EU markets, within a future Savings and Investments Union.”
Since recent market disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Organization of Securities Supervisors (IOSCO) have investigated how to make investment funds more resilient to liquidity shocks. The FSB published their recommendations in December 2023 and IOSCO is now looking into how to adjust their own 2018 recommendations along these lines.
In its response to IOSCO’s consultation on the revised recommendations for liquidity risk management for collective investment schemes, EFAMA welcomes the fact that IOSCO recognises aspects essential for proper risk management (e.g., asset managers’ primary responsibility and the absence of one-size-fits-all approaches).
Representatives of the EU and UK-based financial services industries met today (11 February 2025) in Brussels to discuss their respective priorities and shared challenges on the eve of the latest EU-UK Financial Regulatory Forum meeting and agreed on the following statement.
In its current form, the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) will not achieve its goal of making investing more accessible to European citizens and could deter, rather than encourage, retail participation. In order to stand a chance of delivering on its objectives, the RIS needs urgent simplification. EFAMA have produced a short leaflet with our recommendations on how to simplify and reduce complexity in the current proposal.
Our key suggestions include:
EFAMA welcomes the opportunity to provide comments to the ESMA Consultation Paper on the technical advice to the European Commission on the Benchmarks Regulation. EFAMA also welcomes a number of clarifications and improved points that ESMA is providing in its Consultation and draft Technical Advice since its previous Discussion Paper.
EFAMA strongly supports the objective to provide retail investors with a key information document (KID) for all packaged retail and insurance-based investment products (PRIIPs). It is important that investors and their advisers throughout Europe are given meaningful, comprehensible and comparable information to feel confident about investing and to make sound investment decisions.
This memo covers investments in collective investment vehicles (CIV) in contractual, trust, or corporate form (simply referred as funds) from corporate and institutional investors acting on their own account (e.g. banks, life insurers, industry companies, etc.) and the accounting treatment of such investments under the upcoming IRFS 9 rules. While IFRS 9 contains many positive evolutions, many of our members have been warned by their client investors that IFRS 9 would change their attitude towards investing in funds.
EFAMA is grateful for the opportunity to comment on the OECD Public Discussion Draft related to concerns received by the OECD on previous discussion drafts related to the Report on Action 6, as to how the new provisions included in the Report on Action 6 could affect the treaty-entitlement of nonCIVs. We agree with the aim of the discussion draft to clarify any concerns in relation to the discussion concerning the treaty entitlement of CIVs / Non-CIVs.
EFAMA is grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the drafting of the Regulation through a consultation and we appreciate the effort of the regulator to adopt an approach to reporting consistent with EMIR and to develop, where more efficient, a different reporting logic.

Discover the 6 reasons why your organisation should become a member of EFAMA.
Our members enjoy significant benefits including the opportunity to shape the industry positions, get first-hand access to regulatory and political intelligence, engage with industry peers and policymakers, and take part in EFAMA events.
Our three membership categories cater to the wide range of organisations that make up and support the investment management industry in Europe.