27/10/2010
UCITS IV directive will be a major source of savings
p { margin-bottom: 0.08in; } In a study of the impact of the UCITS IV directive on the asset management sector in Europe (“UCITS IV: Implications for the Asset Management Industry in Europe”), the research and advising agency Celent estimates that the two main themes related to the directive will be growth and consolidation. In the environment of the new directive, the UCITS fund market will continue to grow, both in Europe and internationally. This will be all the more so as hedge funds are showing a growing interest in these vehicles. In operational terms, the directive will also bring strong pressure to standardise flows, processes and systems for all participants. In the longer term, the major contribution of the directive will be an occasion for management firms to make total annual savings of EUR2bn to EUR3bn through appropriate use of terms in the legislation dealing with master-feeder structures, Celent says savings on administration and transactions directly attributable to master-feeder structures may range from 10% to 15%. The study finds that the degree to which the UCITS project is successful will depend on several challenges it faces, including taxation, management of commissions, pay scales, and others. But the sector is confident. As evidence of this, the study finds, the European asset management federation (EFAMA) is backing a pan-European retirement products, which would be in UCITS format.
