Fidelity welcomes European Commission White Paper on Investment Funds

Commenting on the publication today of a White Paper on Investment Funds by the European Commission, Gareth Adams, Executive Director, Regulatory Strategy at Fidelity International said:

"The publication of today’s White Paper is a welcome signal that the Commission has recognised the need to improve the efficiency of the current European investment funds framework. However, there is still a long way to go before European investors and the European fund industry will actually see any real improvement.

"The current inefficiencies have had the effect of reducing the ultimate returns for investors, so affecting the adequacy of retirement income at a time when more and more responsibility is being placed on individuals to provide for their own retirement. Having accepted the need to enhance the efficiency of the UCITS legislative framework and to reduce the costs involved, we would like to see the Commission move quickly to publish the Legislative Proposal so that reform of the product passport, the simplified prospectus and the management company passport can be expedited.

“As the Proposal will still need to go through Council and the European Parliament and it will take time for individual Member States to make the required changes, it could well be the end of the decade before European investors and the European fund industry begin to see the tangible benefits of years of deliberation. The mooted publication of a formal Proposal only in Autumn 2007 will further delay the onset of real reform.

“If the Commission is serious about its intention to reduce inefficiencies, then it must bring forward amending legislation without delay. The time for thinking has been well-used but is at an end: now is the time for action."