Cross Border Distribution – the Journey continues…
Thursday, 6 March 2014
Chairman: Jacques Elvinger
Location: New Luxembourg Congress Centre Kirchberg
The second annual Cross Border Distribution Conference took place on 6 March 2014, focused on cross-border distribution activities as well as Luxembourg’s role as an international player. The event, jointly organised and presented by Deloitte, Elvinger, Hoss & Prussen (EHP) and RBS (Luxembourg) S.A, gathered over 400 local and international participants.
The discussions and workshops have developed into a regulatory journey across the world from Asia to Latin America, with the added dimension of product and above all distribution.
The speakers discussed how, while assets under management are continuing to grow, that with half of collective European savings in deposits or cash, the asset management industry still has room for development. On the other hand, regulators need to take into account that over-regulating the asset management industry could shrink the market by potentially restricting choice or cutting investors off from appropriate advice.
In line with this reflection, discussions examined the impact that U.S. regulations have on the global industry. With the high expectations of investors, the speakers debated the idea that the industry needs to change its service and investment offering, opening up the market to boutique offerings and new ideas which might have an impact on Europe.
The speakers also looked more closely at the regulatory changes affecting the distribution of funds (UCITS IV, PRIPS, MiFID II, AIFMD), and the trend towards greater transparency, more governance, more security for investors - all principles that have been influencing the fund industry in general for some while.