This is the 16th edition of our ‘Asset Management in Europe’ report. The report provides an in-depth analysis of recent trends in the European asset management industry.
Some of the main findings include:
This is the 16th edition of our ‘Asset Management in Europe’ report. The report provides an in-depth analysis of recent trends in the European asset management industry.
Some of the main findings include:
As the European Parliament adopted its position and the Council reached its General Approach, the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), the European Association of Co-operative Banks (EACB), the European Banking Federation (EBF), the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA), the European Savings and Retail Banking Group (ESBG), and Insurance Europe call on the co-legislators to deliver on commitments to boost European competitiveness and to avoid concluding the Financial Data Access (FiDA) Regulation before a thorough a
EFAMA has today published its European Quarterly Statistical Release for Q3 of 2024.
Thomas Tilley, Senior Economist at EFAMA, commented: “Net inflows into long-term funds slowed during the third quarter of 2024, while money market funds attracted strong net sales. In times of market volatility, MMFs often serve as a ‘safe haven’ investment option for investors.”
The EU Securitisation Regulation, which aimed to enhance transparency and strengthen trust, is undergoing a very timely review. EFAMA supports the European Commission’s initiative to engage stakeholders in shaping key improvements to this critical framework.
EFAMA has published its latest Monthly Statistical Release for September 2024.
The undersigned associations welcome the new European Commission’s objectives to boost the EU’s competitiveness, focus on the enforcement of existing legislation and simplify regulatory frameworks. We appreciate that this was also echoed by the Commissioner-Designate Maria Luis Albuquerque during her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament.
European Commission must ensure they don’t hinder much-needed EU investment
Following recent market disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the UK gilt market crisis, the European Commission is reviewing the adequacy of macroprudential policies for non-bank financial intermediation (NBFI). In July 2024, they launched a consultation to determine whether the EU should repurpose specific micro-prudential instruments or introduce new macroprudential requirements.
In its response to the Commission’s consultation on assessing the adequacy of macroprudential policies for NBFI, EFAMA stresses that Europe needs more holistic and rigorous analyses to determine where financial stability risks lie. Unfortunately, even though investment funds have proven resilient in recent years despite frequent market disruptions, the consultation focuses on the asset management industry.
EFAMA has some concerns with ESMA’s clarifications. In the consultation paper (CP), ESMA seems to have a very broad interpretation of the ‘multilateral systems’ definition under MiFID II and states that ‘systems where trading interests can interact but where the execution of transactions is formally undertaken outside the system still qualify as a multilateral system and should be required to seek authorisation’ (paragraph 36).
We disagree with an extension of its scope to UCITS’ and AIFs’ management companies to the scope of the reporting requirements imposed by MiFIR, Art. 26. This extension would be in breach of the principle of proportionality, as:
Article 51(5) of the BMR provides that, unless the Commission has adopted an equivalence decision in relation to a particular third country, a third country administrator has been recognised or a third country benchmark has been endorsed, EU supervised entities may only use a third country benchmark in financial instruments, financial contracts and measurements of the performance of an investment fund that already reference the relevant benchmark prior to 31 December 2021.
EFAMA is grateful for the opportunity to comment on some messages included in the aforementioned roadmap. We believe that these comments should be made clear for all persons interested, especially to those who would like to participate in the upcoming public consultation.
Asset managers represent an important group of benchmark users, either in the case of index funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs) - where benchmarks are used as a target for index tracking funds - or in the case of the evaluation of an active manager’s performance - where the fund performance is measured against a selected index or a set of indices.
EFAMA, the voice of the European investment management industry, believes that, for retail clients, standardised disclosure of information can improve the comparability of financial products that promote environmental and/or social characteristics or have a sustainable objective. It will also contribute to the broader policy objectives of the Sustainable Finance Disclosures Regulation (SFDR) to enhance transparency towards end-investors, hold market participants accountable and fight greenwashing.

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.