Protectionist reflexes still stand in the way of Europe’s champions
The failed partnership between Italy’s Generali and France’s BPCE is more than a collapsed deal in European asset management. It exposes how challenging it remains for Europe to build financial scale once a project becomes truly cross-border, and how protectionist reflexes, legal uncertainty and unfinished integration can combine to smother a transaction.
White House reins in proxy firms, curbing shareholder power
The US government is moving to scale back the influence of proxy advisers ISS and Glass Lewis, casting the firms as ‘foreign-owned political actors’.
Private market firms sallivate over Americans’ retirement cash
The private markets model is edging into the US retail retirement system, where policymakers are moving to allow 401(k) investors to gain exposure to private assets, potentially opening up a trillion dollar market to alternative managers as early as February.
Investors manage just fine with less research on smallcaps
European regulator Esma is advocating a revision of research rules, expected to take effect next year. Allowing research and trade execution to be paid for jointly again could create new opportunities for smallcap coverage.
Europe’s fund market faces a major shake-up under SFDR 2
Europe’s fund market is on the brink of a major reshuffle. Under SFDR 2.0, the European Commission’s revised sustainability rulebook, non-sustainable Article 6 funds are set to become the dominant category at the expense of the most popular sustainability category, Article 8.
SFDR overhaul sets strict new rules for sustainable fund labels
The European Commission on Thursday unveiled sweeping changes to Europe’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation.
Brussels urged to cut the white noise in securitisation
EFAMA’s Tanguy van de Werve says securitisation can help reconnect investors with the real economy, if Brussels can manage to deliver clarity, proportionate rules, and trust.
UK ESG fund labels seen as poor example for SFDR 2.0
The United Kingdom’s new ESG fund labels have struggled to gain traction. As Brussels prepares an overhaul of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR), a senior Morningstar expert warns Europe not to copy London’s model.
Critics fear EuroPension repeats mistakes that doomed PEPP
Europe’s pensions supervisor is relaunching the failed Pan-European Personal Pension Product under a new label, EuroPension. Critics warn the project risks repeating past mistakes: too complex to compete with low-cost ETFs, too weak to rival national schemes, and too focused on capital markets at the expense of statutory pensions.
CSSF tightens stance with sharp rise in sanctions
Luxembourg’s financial regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), has published its 2024 annual report, and the message is clear: the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (AML/CFT) remains at the heart of its mandate.