Regulation (EU) 2019/2088 on sustainability-related disclosures (SFDR) is a pillar of the EU sustainable finance agenda. SFDR aims to increase the transparency of financial market participants towards end-investors and contribute to the objective of fighting greenwashing. It lays down sustainability disclosure obligations on the environmental and social impact of an entity’s investment decisions, and requirements on how to present the characteristics of green investment products.
To ensure this new set of rules successfully delivers on its objectives, EFAMA contributes to developing the regulation, as well as assisting members’ implementation efforts. We voice any concerns around the timelines for applying rules, implementation challenges and interpretation issues. Additionally, we provide the industry’s informed views on current risk management frameworks and practices concerning the disclosure of information to end-investors.
EFAMA sees the European Commission’s proposal for the creation of a European Single Access Point (ESAP) as a crucial step in addressing the limited availability and scattered nature of financial and sustainability-related entity information at EU level.
Given the increasingly important role ESG ratings and data products providers play in investment processes, EFAMA welcomes the increased attention of regulators to this issue. In light of the growing regulatory scrutiny on the ESG characteristics of potential investments, improving the usability and reliability of the ESG ratings and data products is a key priority for the European asset management industry.
EFAMA welcomes IOSCO's enhanced attention to transparency efforts supporting informed and qualified investment decisions in sustainability-related products. We support the adoption of such recommendations at the international level and believe IOSCO should leverage the experience with SFDR and Taxonomy in Europe to help establish consistent international standards, definitions and best practices.
In this response, we would like to highlight three pressing challenges deserving greater attention in the report from asset managers' perspective.
EFAMA sees the European Commission’s proposal for the creation of a European Single Access Point (ESAP) as a crucial step in addressing the limited availability and scattered nature of financial and sustainability-related entity information at EU level.
EFAMA has today released its latest Market Insights report titled “The European ESG market – Introducing the SFDR”. The full report breaks down the size of the European ESG market, reviewing the assets under management of funds using the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) framework.
Given the increasingly important role ESG ratings and data products providers play in investment processes, EFAMA welcomes the increased attention of regulators to this issue. In light of the growing regulatory scrutiny on the ESG characteristics of potential investments, improving the usability and reliability of the ESG ratings and data products is a key priority for the European asset management industry.
This report breaks down the size of the European ESG market, reviewing the assets under management of funds using the SFDR (Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation) framework.
For this Market Insights, EFAMA collaborated with its member associations and strategy consultants at INDEFI to estimate the level and nature of ESG investment by European asset managers at the end of 2019, distinguishing between the ESG strategies applied at the firm level and those applied at the level of individual fund and discretionary mandate. The assets under management covered in the report include EUR 12.5 trillion of investment fund assets and EUR 11.4 trillion of mandate assets.*
A well-designed EU Ecolabel has the potential to provide clear guidance on the financial products retail investors can invest in if they wish to support environmentally sustainable projects and activities - in line with the EU Taxonomy Regulation. The European Commission wants to create a trusted and verified label for retail investors, who would benefit from better comparability of financial products.
