10 ways for Paris to become leading fund centre

The Paris funds industry, which is gunning to make the French capital the premiere asset management centre in Europe, wants to achieve this by 2025, the main trade body said today as it launched the next step of its plan.

The Association Française de la Gestion Financière (AFG) has put out a White Paper proposing ten “ambitious” steps that will contribute to making Paris the “favoured platform for the European market by 2025”.

These include changes to the fiscal regime, relaxing Solvency II measures for long-term assets, and a free-trade area for the asset management industry.

Yves Perrier, chairman of the AFG and chief executive of Amundi, said: “The solutions proposed in this White Paper lay down an ambitious and realistic roadmap for French asset management,” and added that the measures were intended to enhance the industry’s role in aiding economic development in France.

Plans to make Paris the leading fund centre in Europe have included Agility, and are supported by the French regulator, AMF, which has been studying the weaknesses of the European cross-border fund distribution.

The text of the 10 solutions for Paris, as proposed by the AFG under four headings, is:

Long-term savings and wealth of the French people

An individual European pension product
Relaxation of Solvency 2 constraints for long term assets

A stable and sustainable fiscal framework

Setting up a fiscal regime for the preferred savings option
Abolishing payroll tax
Creating a free-trade area for the asset management industry
Withdrawal of specific taxes, in particular FTT

Creating a supportive financial ecosystem

Modernisation of the subscription system and development of .fr fund governance
Definition of a clear, secure framework for securitisation to enable products
Using this technique to be offered to all investors, including Ucits funds
An “.eu” ISIN code for European UCIs subject to a directive providing for free circulation

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