CMU: ALFI welcomes publication of High-Level Forum report as first step of CMU 2.0

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) welcomes today’s publication of the final report by the High-Level Forum on capital markets union (CMU). ALFI supports the European Commission’s intention to prepare an action plan for a so-called CMU 2.0 to ensure that the potential of European capital markets is fully put to use in the economic recovery efforts, as well as ongoing challenges such as climate change.

The Association has been a strong supporter of the CMU initiative and has actively engaged in it from its inception, actively following up on the proposals made by the Commission such as PEPP and the cross-border distribution of funds. ALFI believes that the investment fund industry in general, and Luxembourg’s internationally oriented fund sector in particular, can play a key role in enhancing market-based finance and diversifying the funding sources for the needs of Europe’s businesses and retail investors.

The CMU 2.0 initiative is a further opportunity to improve the product offering to both retail and professional investors by streamlining transparency rules and introducing provisions on savings and pension products, ELTIFs, sustainable and ESG funds as well as securitisation products.

ALFI stresses the need for a legislative framework that puts the investor at the centre. Incentives to make investment funds more attractive to those investors who currently shy away from markets are essential. An urgent priority for ALFI has long been the encouragement of measures to enhance financial literacy, and the Association is convinced that investors must be provided with more choice. This goes hand in hand with the adaptation of marketing rules for both retail and wholesale products to the knowledge of investors, which ALFI supports.

ALFI appreciates the detail of the report’s recommendations and in particular supports the recommendations centred on investors, namely:

• calling for more public and private initiative on financial literacy,
• calling for the amendment of the definition of professional investors under MiFID II, and
• calling for a review as soon as possible of the PRIIPs Regulation and in sufficient time to avoid a conflict with the expiry of the exemption for UCITS, regarding intelligibility and comparability of information and the coherence with MiFID information rules, in particular for performance and cost disclosures.

ALFI welcomes the fact that the High-Level Forum refrained from including any recommendation on centralised EU supervision powers and has instead opted to focus on supervisory convergence.

ALFI is looking forward to further engaging in the development of the CMU 2.0 and contributing to the success of the CMU.

ENDS

The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) represents the face and voice of the Luxembourg asset management and investment fund community. The Association is committed to the development of the Luxembourg fund industry by striving to create new business opportunities, and through the exchange of information and knowledge.

Created in 1988, the Association today represents over 1,500 Luxembourg-domiciled investment funds, asset management companies and a wide range of businesses that serve the sector. These include depositary banks, fund administrators, transfer agents, distributors, legal firms, consultants, tax advisory firms, auditors and accountants, specialist IT and communication companies. Luxembourg is the largest fund domicile in Europe and a worldwide leader in cross-border distribution of funds. Luxembourg-domiciled investment funds are distributed in more than 70 countries around the world. For further information, do not hesitate to consult www.alfi.lu.

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