Cross-border fund distribution proposals

The European Commission has welcomed a political agreement reached on 5 February 2019 between the European Parliament and EU Member States on new rules to facilitate the cross-border distribution of investment funds by removing certain existing regulatory requirements in an effort to make cross-border distribution more cost effective as well as providing certainty around pre-marketing activities. In particular, the inclusion of a harmonised definition of pre-marketing in AIFMD will permit certain pre-marketing activities prior to an AIF being established to allow asset managers to test the appetite of potential professional investors for a particular investment idea or strategy.

The proposals align national marketing requirements and regulatory fees, and harmonise divergent national competent authority rules and requirements for the verification of marketing materials. The resulting transparency and competition will give investors more choice at lower costs without compromising on investor protection.

This forms part of a package of legislative initiatives published by the European Commission in March 2018, aimed at completing the Capital Markets Union.