EFAMA appreciates the opportunity to comment on the European Commission's Targeted consultation on open finance framework and data sharing in the financial sector.
EFAMA monitors issues surrounding fund distribution and disclosures to investors. These include investor protection and disclosure issues arising from the evolving PRIIPs and MiFID frameworks, the shift towards digital distribution tools, and the continued integration of ESG considerations into fund products.
EFAMA appreciates the opportunity to comment on the European Commission's Targeted consultation on open finance framework and data sharing in the financial sector.
EFAMA welcomes the opportunity to respond to the EC’s targeted consultation on the functioning of the ESG rating market in the EU and on the consideration of ESG factors in credit ratings. Please note that our response covers, at the same time, ESG ratings and ESG data providers, as the demand for ESG “raw” data has been increasing at a steady pace. The use of ESG data has also rapidly shifted from a narrow set of investment products to being prolific across all investment products.
EFAMA appreciates the opportunity to respond to the IOSCO Retail Market Conduct Task Force's consultation on retail investment trends.
In our view, the IOSCO report provides a comprehensive picture of the retail market trends and risk magnifiers.
We also take the opportunity to share our views on the following areas:
We welcome yesterday's vote by the European Parliament plenary formally adopting two ‘quick fixes’ for PRIIPs (Packaged retail investments and insurance-based products) and UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities).
Andreas Stepnitzka, EFAMA Deputy Director, Regulatory Policy, comments:
EFAMA provided high-level comments to the Commission’s consultation on the potential review of the Directive on Distance Marketing of Consumer Financial Services.
We agree with the Commission’s interpretation that the Directive is seen as a “safety net” for financial services not already subject to product-specific legislation. Fund and asset managers are already subject to various, more stringent and detailed sectoral legislations, such as (but not limited to) UCITS, AIFMD and MiFID as well as the (more recent) Cross-Border Fund Distribution Directives.
Funds face unique challenges in performing intermediary oversight, and especially so because of MiFID II requirements, changing regulatory landscapes, and the absence of an industry agreed-upon standard between funds and their distribution channels. To help address these challenges, a dedicated working group developed a uniform due diligence questionnaire (DDQ) that will serve as the standard for investment funds (UCITS and AIFs) in performing onboarding and ongoing oversight of distribution channels.