Asset Management
Asset Management
by Arthur Carabia and Irene Rey
AMIC: summary of activities in the first quarter Events and podcasts • Monthly podcasts with Robert Parker, Chair of the ICMA Asset Management and Investors Council (AMIC), reviewing market events in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, with a specific focus on central bank policy measures, economic data and the impact on investors. • Podcast with Philippe Waechter, Chief Economist at Ostrum Asset Management, on his outlook on the economy in 2021 and beyond post-pandemic. • Virtual webinar with Steffen Kern, ESMA, on The lessons from the COVID-19 crisis from a fund liquidity perspective. The panel discussed ESMA’s key findings during the market crisis, risks to consider in the coming year and the policy lessons learned. • Coming up next: Virtual panel on covered bonds and the EU taxonomy on 27 April.
Consultation responses • AMIC response to the European Commission consultation on the review of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD): In its response to the Commission, AMIC argues in favour of legislative stability and calls on the Commission to focus on vehicles which, with changes, could foster growth in European capital markets rather than those which have been successful in encouraging the EU’s competitiveness and attractiveness. • AMIC response to the European Commission consultation on the review of the European Long-Term Investment Fund (ELTIF) Regulatory Framework: AMIC welcomed this review and encouraged the EU to take a bold approach given that no more than 28 ELTIFs have been launched since 2015 (see focus article below).
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• ICMA response to the IOSCO bond ETF survey: ICMA has responded to the IOSCO survey on bond ETFs in the context of March/April 2020 market meltdown. ICMA’s response involved members representing issuers, investors and authorised participants and market makers. The recent crisis shows that, overall, the ETF ecosystem functioned well despite extreme circumstances but that there is a need to continue improving the resilience and liquidity of corporate bond markets via its further electronification and appropriately calibrated regulation (see focus article below). • Coming up next: – Response to IOSCO CP on open-ended fund liquidity and risk management (16 April 2021). – Response to the ESAs CP on Taxonomy-related product disclosures (12 May 2021).
Own initiative papers • AMIC statement on ESG disclosures for securitised assets: AMIC has set up an ad hoc working group to discuss ESG transparency of Asset-Backed Securities. As a first step the working group has issued a statement laying down current challenges for this specific asset class and the buy side. Next steps are to identify key performance indicators for three sub asset classes (auto-loans, RMBS and CLOs) which could then be embraced by market participants and/ or regulators. • ICMA note on SFDR RTS: ICMA issued a note following the publication of the ESAs’ final recommendations for the regulatory technical standards (RTS) of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). The note explains the next steps regarding the decision-making process and points out implementation challenges which members and policy makers may want to consider. AMIC also launched a taskforce to help members consider implementation challenges (a potential best practice guide has been considered) and engagement opportunities (a draft letter has been considered).
