Laws and Regulations

The presentation of the European Commission’s long-awaited retail investment strategy, has now been delayed once more, from an early May to a tentatively scheduled 24 May date, according to a person familiar with the policymaking process in Brussels.

In Luxembourg, the financial sector is concerned about whether the Commission will opt for a ban on inducements on investment advice as part of its strategy.

The Luxembourg government clarified its application of the reverse hybrid rule in the EU’s second anti-tax avoidance directive (ATAD-2) last November, in 2022. It made clear that tax-exempt investors are exempt from the application of the reverse hybrid rules and clarified when they do apply to other investors. With the “quite helpful” clarification bringing simplification in one area, the quest for certainty has moved to related issues, such as allocating the potential tax burden if a given investor triggers it.

The Luxembourg financial community is concerned that schemes such as ATAD-3, which targets shell companies or the Pillar II implementation on international corporate taxation could intentionally or unintentionally affect until now perfectly legal tax or investment fund structures.

Luxembourg management companies are drawing attention to the increasing reporting burden that often lands on their shoulders when European level regulation, such as the cross-border fund distribution directive, is passed. These requirements, they argue, often simply serve to placate national authorities over their lost jurisdiction. “It’s creating an additional burden on the investment fund manager,” said Chloé Piquet, a senior manager in regulatory services at Deloitte.

The Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) is working relentlessly to further build a financial system that is safe, transparent, and reliable. To achieve this goal, the supervisors of the Luxembourg financial sector collaborate closely with their peers in the EU and globally.

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry, the grand duchy’s leading fund and asset management association known as Alfi, turns 35 this year. It’s a milestone to be marked at its upcoming European Asset Management conference on Tuesday 21 and Wednesday 22 March. 

With the endorsement of almost all European stock exchanges, the “consolidated tape” recently booked significant progress. Hurdles remains however, as representatives of stock exchanges and asset managers remain at loggerheads. “Europe risks missing the boat on this entire issue of really getting market structure right,” FESE’s director general Rainer Riess told Investment Officer.

While the smokescreens on the greenwashing battlefield have yet to lift, a new headache file has presented itself in financial markets: the impact of artificial intelligence on market participants and regulators. On that front, transparency is “zero”, European Markets Authority Esma has concluded in a new study on artificial intelligence in EU securities markets.

French financial supervisor AMF is calling for a major reform of the EU’s SFDR rules for sustainable finance disclosures and proposed to remove fossil fuel activities from investment funds that are classified as “dark green” Article 9.

The European Parliament in Strasbourg on Wednesday (15 February) adopted the eagerly anticipated upgrade of the EU regulation for long-term investment funds, a package known as Eltif 2.0. An overwhelming majority of 492 members, or 70 percent, voted in favour.