“There are clear regulatory changes and simplifications that policymakers can make to turn more savers into investors, provide more funding for EU businesses, and improve market efficiency and integration,” argued Vincent Ingham, director of regulatory policy at Efama, announcing the association’s key recommendations for enhancing the EU’s capital markets and boosting economic growth. Photo: Efama

“There are clear regulatory changes and simplifications that policymakers can make to turn more savers into investors, provide more funding for EU businesses, and improve market efficiency and integration,” argued Vincent Ingham, director of regulatory policy at Efama, announcing the association’s key recommendations for enhancing the EU’s capital markets and boosting economic growth. Photo: Efama

The trade group Efama has called on the EU to simplify the investment process, enhance financial literacy and remove tax barriers in order to address the growing savings-investment gap, while supporting greater market integration and supervisory convergence.

The European Fund and Asset Management Association, which advocates for the interests of European investment fund and asset management firms, has called for substantial regulatory reforms to stimulate investment, mobilise EU savings and encourage deeper integration of capital markets. Ahead of the European Commission’s forthcoming savings and investments union (SIU) communication, expected in the second quarter of 2025, Efama has outlined key recommendations aimed at restoring the EU’s competitiveness. Announced on Thursday 6 March, these proposals are designed to address the significant mismatch between savings and investments across the region, as well as improve the functioning of the capital markets.

Recommendations

Efama’s recommendations are structured around four key areas. The first area focuses on mobilising EU savings more effectively. This includes proposals to simplify the investor journey by enhancing financial literacy, preserving access to professional advice, and encouraging retirement savings. Additionally, Efama advocates for the use of tax incentives, the establishment of simple national investment savings accounts, and a review of the pan-European personal pension product (Pepp).

The second area involves making more investments available for EU companies. Efama highlights the importance of promoting the use of the European long-term investment fund (Eltif) 2.0 and loan-originating alternative investment funds (AIFs). Additionally, revitalising the European securitisation market is a key recommendation to enhance investment opportunities for businesses across the EU.

The third area of focus is fostering greater market integration and improving capital market efficiency. Efama stresses the need for reducing duplicative reporting requirements, increasing regulatory consistency across the EU, and delivering a reasonably priced and high-quality consolidated tape. Further, it highlights the importance of addressing the rising costs and reliability concerns of market and environmental, social and governance (ESG) data. Recognising the transformative potential of distributed ledger technology (DLT) is also part of the recommendations, alongside the removal of tax barriers and gold plating, which hinder EU cross-border investments.

The final area prioritises greater supervisory convergence, with Efama advocating for the exchange of supervisory data across authorities to enhance regulatory coordination and oversight.

Vincent Ingham, director of regulatory policy at Efama, remarked in the trade group’s statement that the EU stands at a pivotal moment, where the decisions taken today will shape the region’s economic prosperity in the years ahead. He emphasised that there are clear regulatory changes and simplifications that policymakers can implement to turn more savers into investors, provide greater funding for EU businesses, and improve the efficiency and integration of the market. Ingham stressed that, with the right regulatory environment, asset managers can play a crucial role in the financial wellbeing of EU citizens and the long-term success of the European economy.

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