ALFI Global Distribution Conference

Anton Heese, a senior portfolio manager and research analyst at Morgan Stanley, will share his views on what he sees as the current key macroeconomic challenges and how these will impact the investment management sector over the coming years. His comments will look at the impact of untamed inflation and the consequential higher interest rates, high energy prices, and the specific and growing challenges facing China. He will conclude his comments with his assessment of what all this means for investing and investors

So far, a lot has happened in 2023. This panel will review, discuss and debate both the business and regulatory implications arising from the most recent significant EU and Luxembourg regulatory developments.
The latter will include the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), the status of the AIFMD/UCITS Review, the latest updates on the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and related ESMA guidelines as well as the package of recent measures taken by Luxembourg to modernise its investment fund toolbox. 

Currently, investment funds only account for 10% of European household savings which continues to be dominated by deposit holdings. This compares to 22% in the US. European policymakers have been attempting to address this imbalance for years, the latest being the retail investment strategy. Financial education gaps, lack of tailored advice and product awareness, cumbersome purchasing processes, costs and fees are among many of the matters to be addressed. What else needs to be done to improve household participation? Will an increased focus on environmental and societal concerns play a role? How might technology developments expand the household footprint? And is there a case for reviewing tax incentives for investment fund savings aligned with EU environmental and other critical objectivities?

Fund platforms play a pivotal role in fund distribution, but with renewed focus on cost transparency, value for money, private assets, and ESG data requirements, how will/should their business models evolve to meet the future needs of investors, distributors, and asset managers?

These challenges raise many questions: Will direct distribution models by-pass platforms? Should we expect further consolidation and in what form? What is the likely impact of increased regulatory focus on platforms, in particular related to investment recommendations, fees, and advice versus execution? What is the future value proposition of fund platforms? What about the role of technology? What do/will asset managers expect in terms of increased value to support their distribution models? How can they better leverage data? Can such fund platforms be disrupted by new technology entrants?

A series of unprecedented global challenges have underscored the need to think more carefully about how to adapt to the changing geopolitical and volatile economic environment. How do asset managers navigate today's environment, and how can investment fund associations support their members? What are the current key priorities for asset managers? And what are the hot topics for the fund associations?

Listen to the views of the CEOs of the three leading associations in Asia and the US. Camille Thommes, Director General of ALFI, will moderate this session and interview his peers, Sally Wong, CEO of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association and Jim Fitzpatrick, President and CEO of Nicsa.

The long-awaited reform of the ELTIF regulation has been completed. Can the revised regime unlock the full potential of ELTIFs? Will it become a Luxembourg success story and go-to vehicle in light of the growing appetite for alternative asset classes from both institutional and retail investors? This panel of experts will share their experience with ELTIF 1.0 and discuss how they are preparing for ELTIF 2.0. They will shed some light on their expectations and ambitions.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) each issued global consultation reports in July 2023 for response by 4 September 2023. The policymakers' perspective is that open-ended funds can collectively generate systemic risk to financial stability via liquidity mismatch. Recommendations include liquidity bucketing and greater inclusion and more consistent use of liquidity management tools (LMT) in both normal and stressed market conditions. This panel will consider how we have arrived at the present position and what impacts could follow for global fund regulation and business practice going forward.