19 September 2016

AMF（フランス金融市場庁）、欧州における投資信託のクロスボーダー販売に関する報告書を公表

Within the framework of its Capital Markets Union Action Plan, the European Commission has set the goal of creating a truly European market for retail financial services by offering consumers a broader choice of financial investments. The Autorité des marchés financiers, which is actively engaged in the European debate, wished to shed light on the possible brakes to cross-border distribution of investment funds in Europe.

In a study entitled “Cross-border fund distribution in Europe: identifying the barriers to entry and improving investor confidence”, the AMF presents an overview of the passports granted. According to the European Commission, 80% of European UCITS and 40% of AIF have a cross-border passport in 2016. This high number attests to the success of this door opener, which enables European funds to be sold in other member states. The annual cost of obtaining a passport is very low with respect to the activity of the fund, as it represents between 0% and 0.0016% of the average amount of assets under management.

While there are numerous passports, this is not always synonymous with the real marketing of funds in countries targeted by the asset management companies. The study identifies a number of impediments to this cross-border distribution: distribution networks’ preference for their own products, the required adaptation to local consumer profiles, taxation, and the consumer’s national bias.

On the strength of these conclusions, the AMF suggests three ways of developing the cross-border provision of investment funds while protecting European consumers:

• Promote open architecture fund distribution and the convergence of marketing rules;
• Strengthen the confidence of savers by allowing the local authority to supervise the advertising of financial products sold on its territory;
• Open the debate on control of marketing actions carried out from abroad.

Full study

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