Briefing - Cross-border distribution of investment funds - PE 615.675 - Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs - Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection

The Directive on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) provides for strong investor protection and creates a label for European retail investment funds. The Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) lays down rules for the authorisation, supervision and oversight of managers of non-UCITS funds, i.e. alternative investment funds (AIFs). Facilitating cross-border investment remains an essential part of the European Commission's action plan on building a capital markets union (CMU); the current legislative initiative is limited to facilitating further the cross-border distribution and supervision of UCITS and AIFs, mainly by reducing national regulatory barriers. This briefing presents the rationale for both the existing legislation and the new legislative proposal, as well as the positions of the institutional bodies and stakeholders.