Brussels, Belgium – MFA called on the European Commission to adopt a simplification package on financial regulation as part of its Savings and Investments Union (SIU) objectives in a letter submitted today. The letter comes ahead of President von der Leyen’s State of the Union address, and outlines recommendations to reduce regulatory burdens, boost efficiency, and support innovation.
“Competitive, resilient capital markets provide investors with diverse and productive investment opportunities and are critical to Europe’s economic growth,” said Bryan Corbett, MFA President and CEO. “We commend the Commission’s stated objective of strengthening EU capital markets and encourage the adoption of a Simplification Package that streamlines reporting requirements, enhances market functioning, and ensures regulations remain adaptable to innovation and sustainable growth.”
MFA’s three recommendations are to:
- Reduce unnecessary burdens, including by:
- Requiring asset managers to report to a single reporting hub, accessible to national regulators, instead of multiple national systems.
- Adopting single-sided reporting as a replacement for the current requirement that both the sell-side and the buy-side report transactions.
- Creating a common EU-wide pre-marketing notification document for non-EU alternative investment funds.
- Strengthen market functioning and resilience by:
- Putting in place securitisation due diligence requirements to facilitate global investment and enhance EU competitiveness.
- Allowing alternative investment funds to sponsor securitisations.
- Clarifying terms in securitisation rules to reduce legal uncertainty.
- Enhancing short selling disclosure rules to increase market liquidity, support price discovery, and reduce volatility.
- Preserving and enhancing policies that give EU investors access to global investment opportunities.
- Future-proof regulations by:
- Maintaining a technology-neutral framework that focuses on regulating activities as opposed to specific technologies.
- Recognising the distinct role of nonbank financial intermediaries.
- Promoting innovations in pension fund management, including the strategic role of alternative asset managers in safeguarding the public’s financial security and supporting EU growth via diversification and risk management.
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About the global alternative asset management industry
The global alternative asset management industry — including hedge funds, private credit funds, and hybrid funds — serves thousands of public and private pension funds, charitable endowments, foundations, and other global institutional investors. The industry provides portfolio diversification and risk-adjusted returns to help meet their funding obligations and return targets throughout the economic cycle.
About MFA
Managed Funds Association (MFA), based in Washington, D.C., New York City, Brussels, and London, represents the global alternative asset management industry. MFA’s mission is to advance the ability of alternative asset managers to raise capital, invest it, and generate returns for their beneficiaries. MFA advocates on behalf of its membership and convenes stakeholders to address global regulatory, operational, and business issues. MFA has more than 180 fund manager members, including traditional hedge funds, private credit funds, and hybrid funds, that employ a diverse set of investment strategies. Member firms help pension plans, university endowments, charitable foundations, and other institutional investors diversify their investments, manage risk, and generate attractive returns throughout the economic cycle.
