Written by Angelos Delivorias (3rd edition),

Accountant checking financial data. Accounting concept.
© designer491 / Fotolia

Investment funds are products created to pool investors’ capital and to invest it in a collective portfolio of securities. The characteristics of a range of different types of investment funds have been established in Union law, and most funds on the market are categorised as one of these types. The market in the EU is smaller than in the United States, despite there being far more funds in the EU. This is why the European Commission put forward two legislative proposals: one for a regulation aligning national requirements for marketing funds and regulatory fees and harmonising the process and requirements for the verification of marketing material by national competent authorities, and the other for a directive harmonising the conditions under which investment funds may exit a national market and allowing European asset managers to engage in pre-marketing activities. Parliament and Council approved the texts agreed in trilogue on 16 April and 14 June 2019 respectively. The final acts were published on 12 July 2019. The directive’s provisions shall apply from 2 August 2021, and the regulation’s from August 2019, with some exceptions.

Versions

Proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to cross-border distribution of collective investment funds;
Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on facilitating cross-border distribution of collective investment funds and amending Regulations (EU) No 345/2013 and (EU) No 346/2013
Committee responsible: Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) COM(2018) 92
COM(2018) 110
12.3.2018

2018/0041 (COD)
2018/0045 (COD)

Ordinary legislative procedure (COD) (Parliament and Council on equal footing – formerly ‘co-decision’)
Rapporteur: Wolf Klinz (ALDE, Germany)
Shadow rapporteurs: Alain Lamassoure (EPP, France)
Mady Delvaux (S&D, Luxembourg)
Syed Kamall (ECR, UK)
Matt Carthy (GUE/NGL, Ireland)
Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA, Germany)
Procedure completed. Directive (EU) 2019/1160, OJ L 188 ,12.7.2019, pp. 106-115.
Regulation (EU) 2019/1156 OJ L 188, 12.7.2019, pp. 55-66.