Note that the FBC Fortnightly News Blog will be taking a summer holiday after this edition and will be back to business in September.
Regulation
Value vetting
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator have published the outcome of the ‘Value for Money: A framework on metrics, standards, and disclosures’ consultation on DC pension schemes.
PRIIPs pass-over
Read how the UK plans to replace the European PRIIPs disclosure requirements (which were retained post Brexit) with a new regime in the latest position on UK retail disclosure. Draft legislation is expected by 2024.
Get to grips with the Grid
Following Royal Assent of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 (FSMA 2023 or the Act), co-chairs of the Regulatory Forum; Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive Officer of the FCA, and Sam Woods, Deputy Governor, Prudential Regulation at the Bank of England (BoE), have published the significant updates and developments on the February 2023 Regulatory Initiatives Grid. A full update of the Grid is planned for the last quarter of 2023.
Consumer Duty catch-up
For a comprehensive catch-up on Consumer Duty, read the review in FT Money.
Ucits under review
EU policymakers have reached a provisional agreement on the review of Ucits rules and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. Under the provisional deal, the EU will introduce new requirements for asset managers regarding the “activation” of fund liquidity management tools. Reported on in Ignites Europe, it also foresees the introduction of new measures designed to identify “undue” costs (see also the commentary from Pinsent Mansions on guidance on undue costs in Investment Officer) and prevent possibly misleading fund names to better protect investors as well as delegation arrangements coming under increased scrutiny.
ESMA observations
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a statement on the use of securities lending, saying it has observed cases where “the additional returns from securities lending do not accrue to the client, while the client does incur the higher risk due to [the] lending out [of] his or her financial instruments”. Read the statement here and Ignites Europe take here.
Risk reckonings
A new discussion paper from the Central Bank of Ireland indicates that “the collective actions of investment funds have the potential to generate systemic risk” to the financial system, Ignites Europe reports.
Lux tax lift
Luxembourg’s parliament has voted for several fund categories, including European Long Term Investment Funds (Eltifs) and money market funds, to be exempted from the registration tax imposed on Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Read the details in Investment Officer.
Governance
Board breakdown
New research from EY has revealed that more than 25% of financial services board members hold four or more posts, raising over-boarding concerns. The findings from a survey of 300 fund managers, reported in the Financial Times (FT), has also found that more work is needed on gender representation to meet a forthcoming EU directive due to come into force in July 2026.
Sustainable Investing
Net Zero not out
The myths and challenges of getting to Net Zero are set out in this compelling article in the FT.
Market News
Mind the gap
Citing Morningstar data, the latest European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) factbook reports that bigger funds are growing, while smaller funds are making up an increasing share of closures and mergers. Get the EFAMA factbook here and read the highlights in Ignites Europe.
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