Lois et réglementation

L’Irlande s’est fermement positionnée comme le plus grand domicile international pour les fonds négociés en bourse (ETF), laissant à ses concurrents, comme le Luxembourg, le soin de rattraper leur retard. Malgré cette domination, certains spécialistes des fonds basés à Dublin estiment que le grand-duché n’est pas totalement dépourvu de chances.

La communauté luxembourgeoise de la titrisation se mobilise face à l’observation de l’Irlande, concurrente farouche, conserver son rôle de leader européen dans les sociétés de véhicules financiers et séries, malgré l’optimisme exprimé l’année dernière quant à la loi luxembourgeoise sur la titrisation, pourtant toujours éclatante. L’implémentation irlandaise incluait des dispositions offrant aux entreprises des options de minimisation fiscale qui ne sont pas encore accessibles en vertu de la législation luxembourgeoise.

Luxembourg banking association ABBL on Monday said it sees the EU’s new retail investment plans as “controversial”, warning that the package that aims to prioritise consumer interests and strengthen investor protection “may have unintended consequences” and could distort the investment sector.

Les exigences imposées aux distributeurs de fonds par les sélectionneurs de fonds, les banques privées et les gestionnaires de portefeuilles discrétionnaires deviennent de plus en plus difficiles et rigoureuses. Au Benelux en particulier, les clients ne sont pas satisfaits des fonds existants ; ils veulent des solutions personnalisées et spécifiques.

When the long wait for the retail investment strategy finally ended this afternoon at a European Commission press conference in Brussels, there were no big surprises. There finally will be no full ban on inducements. But Commissioner Mairead McGuinness gave the financial industry three years to hit her targets for transparency, costs and retail investor participation, or the ban will be back on the table.

Europe’s top financial supervisor on Tuesday said it has opened up a consultation on the draft technical standards for European Long Term Investment Funds, or Eltifs, to collect input from the industry. Interested stakeholders have until 24 August to provide input.

The standards, known formally as the ‘RTS’, shed more light on the redemption policies and matching mechanism for Eltifs. The consultation also asks the industry to comment on the proposed disclosure requirements for costs of Eltifs. 

While those European investors still in doubt about the importance of ESG are becoming increasingly bogged down in a rearguard action, U.S. states are increasingly passing anti-ESG laws. “If this becomes federal policy, I would underweight the U.S. in the portfolio,” said Gaya Herrington,  a sustainability researcher and advisor to the Club of Rome.

Technical standards with which sustainability information must comply are becoming clearer as far as the European supervisory authorities are concerned. They published a comprehensive consultation paper with a high level of detail and many calculation formulae on the level 2 implementation of the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Directive, or SFDR. The industry can propose amendments up to 4 July.

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. 

Europe’s top regulator for securities and financial markets on Wednesday said it believes there is a need for EU-level legislation to make sure investors do not bear costs that are considered excessive, unnecessary, or unreasonable when they put their money in investment funds.