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For immediate release: Friday 31 October 2008 IMA URGES THE COMMISSION TO TAKE CESR's ADVICE ON THE MANAGEMENT COMPANY PASSPORT The Investment Management Association (IMA) welcomes the pragmatic and effective solutions proposed in CESR's (The Committee of European Securities Regulators) advice, published today, on how to implement the management company passport. The advice provides a good basis for moving forward. It is now for the European Commission to take affirmative action to establish the passport. Commenting, Jarkko Syyrilä, Director of International Relations at IMA, said: "CESR's advice clarifies once and for all the case for establishing the management company passport. However, we believe the proposals could be further improved by using existing mechanisms to fulfil the functions suggested for the role of a local contact point. The management company passport will significantly enhance the efficiency of the UCITS framework as asset managers will be able to manage investment funds cross-border without duplicating organisational and capital requirements. We now urge the European Commission to take up CESR's advice and include the passport within the UCITS IV package." A copy of CESR's advice can be found here. -ENDS- 1. UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) are investment funds established and authorised in conformity with the requirements of Directive 85/611/EEC. Once authorised, a UCITS fund can be distributed to investors across the EU upon notification to the corresponding national authorities. The Directive has been key to the successful development of the European market for investment funds. Today, UCITS funds manage assets amounting to € 6400 billion (i.e. about half of the EU GDP). 2. The UCITS Directive lays down common requirements for the organisation, management and oversight of UCITS funds. The Directive defines a list of eligible assets in which a UCITS fund can invest. It also imposes rules relating to the diversification and liquidity of the fund's portfolio. Thanks to these strict requirements, UCITS funds enjoy world-wide the reputation of a well supervised financial product. They have also protected UCITS funds against the severe effects of the recent financial turmoil. More information is available at: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/investment/legal_texts/index_en.htm 3. About Investment Management Association (IMA) IMA is the trade body for the UK's £3.4 trillion asset management industry.The money its members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs. Its role is to represent the industry and promote high standards. For further information, please contact: Out of hours contact: |
