text: EFAMA strongly supports the Commission's draft proposal amending the ELTIF Regulation where it addresses some of the major obstacles that have undermined the attractiveness of the ELTIF product since inception. The revised legal framework has the potential to transform ELTIF into a product of choice for a larger (retail) investor audience, all while serving the purposes of the Capital Markets Union (CMU). However, some important adjustments remain to be made for the ELTIF regime to reach its full potential as a competitive long-term investment option.
  EU Fund regulation
  The EU fund product landscape is deep, diverse and dynamic. Since the birth of the UCITS framework in 1985, European institutions have progressively refined it into a global “gold standard”, one that successfully balances strict regulatory requirements with the flexibility required by manager to meet evolving client demands. The successful evolution of UCITS was followed by the creation of alternative investment funds (AIFs) under the 2011 AIFM Directive, adding a second important pillar to EU fund/manager regulation. Building on this second pillar are further ambitious EU fund products, such as EUSEFs, EUVECAs and ELTIFs. EFAMA has helped guide all of these key regulatory developments, informing policymakers and regulators on their main merits and drawbacks, while also keeping a close eye on their respective review initiatives.
  EFAMA strongly supports a fundamental review to the ELTIF regime, in view of broadening its eligible investment universe and adapting it to better meet retail investor needs. We are also closely monitoring the review of the AIFM Directive from a product regulation standpoint, including possible spillover effects on the UCITS Directive requirements. Further work involves keeping pace with relevant ESMA initiatives, such as the work around the Common Supervisory Action on costs and fees for UCITS.
  EFAMA firmly supports the European Commission’s proposal to revise the European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) Regulation. The revised framework has the potential to transform ELTIF into a product of choice for European investors and to become a cornerstone of the Capital Markets Union.
  While cognisant of the FSB’s strict timelines in view of upcoming G20 summits, these should not come at the expense of a necessary and more informed debate on the causes at the root of last year’s stresses in global short-term funding markets (STFMs) and on ways to remedy these in the future. In fact, the options presented in the consultation report appear hurried and dismissive of critical facts, calling therefore for a deeper engagement with the global financial and investing community at large.
  European Statistics Q1 2021 | European Investment Fund Industry 2021 Trends - Equity funds reach all-time high
  EFAMA has today published its Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet for the first quarter of 2021, including information on owners of investment funds in Europe and their net purchases of funds during the fourth quarter of 2020.
  The main developments through the quarter are as follows:
  EFAMA’s 2021 Fact Book, “Trends in European Investment Funds”, will be published at the end of June.
  As in previous years, this year’s Fact Book provides an extensive analysis of key developments in the investment fund industry, inside and outside Europe.
  The European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) has today published its latest monthly Investment Fund Industry Fact Sheet, which provides data on UCITS and AIFs sold in February 2021, at European level and by country of fund domiciliation.
  Q #1 What is the European Fund Classification (EFC) and why is it different from other classifications?
  The mission at the heart of our work on the European Fund Classification scheme is to help investors, and the wider European funds industry, to find and compare similar fund peer groups in a meaningful way. This mission is particularly relevant in an era of rising cross-border fund sales because the EFC enables investors and their advisers to compare funds across different European jurisdictions consistently.
  It gives me great pleasure to provide you with an overview of our activities since our Ordinary General Meeting of last year.
  Q #1 Why did EFAMA members feel the need to publish this ETP investor guide?