EU retail strategy spurs fund industry reflection on value
The amended EU proposals for a retail investment strategy have spurred asset managers to reflect on the value the offer for the money that they take, it beame clear at a Luxembourg discussion at the ALFI conference.
EP set for push to greenlight retail investment reform
The EU’s retail investment package will come up for a vote at the Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs on the evening of Wednesday, 20 March.
Efama DG calls for reframing discourse on retail investments
The current approach to the EU’s retail investment strategy may not adequately address broader issues such as the retirement savings gap, reflecting a need for a more holistic approach to financial education and pension policies, a leading European industry representative argues.
Investors may draw short end in tussle over retail strategy
The industry’s objections to a divisive EU Retail Investment Package are being heard in Brussels, it has become clear in recent weeks. Investors could end up pulling the short straw, critics argue. ABBL says a clearer definition of retail investors is important for private banks and wealth managers.
Brussels launches crackdown on costs of investment funds
When the long wait for the retail investment strategy finally ended on Wednesday at a European Commission press conference in Brussels, Commissioner Mairead McGuinness gave the financial industry three years to hit her targets for transparency, costs and retail investor participation, or an outright ban on kickbacks will be back on the table.
‘Value for money’ replaces full kickback ban in EU retail plan
Fund firms face the prospect of EU rules setting standards of “value for money” for their investment products under the Retail Investment Strategy due to be unveiled on 24 May. This could include disincentives, for example, to charging active management fees for an investment that underperforms an index fund. For all the discussion of a ban on inducements for investment advice, the commission has decided to propose a more limited inducement ban on execution-only investments.
EU retail investment strategy launch delayed to end May
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.