The European fund management body EFAMA has called for the EU to introduce further legislation to enable the creation of a single European fund management market.
Currently the fund management industry in the EU is regulated by a framework known as the UCITS directive, however this dates back to the 1980s and EFAMA believes that it needs updating to allow for funds to be merged across borders, or for funds to be managed in one member state by a manager based in another.
EFAMA is also pushing for the EU to go further in its efforts to create a single market for occupational pensions, which would in turn help open up the asset management industry. The association wants fund managers to have greater control over the management of pension schemes – meaning a single European framework for fund management becomes increasingly relevant alongside the EU’s plans for cross-border pension administration.
As a move towards defined contribution pension schemes with increasing importance of asset management is unavoidable, we indeed believe that fund managers with their long tradition of high transparency are well placed to contribute to bridge the pension funding not only by offering investment funds but also by operating directly as institutions proposing and operating pension schemes, EFAMA said in a statement reported by Investment and Pensions Europe.