We look forward to a return to the good old days next year. You remember the good old days. It was the time, within the past decade, when the industry’s chief concern was to manage the deluge of post-financial crisis regulation coming down the line from Brussels and the US.
The AIFMD was touring through member states, being scrutinised and revised at every stop. Ucits regulations were in their – what? – third or fourth iteration. And the MiFID II Directive was in train, a very long train, as it crawled up to finally impact pretty much every area of financial markets.
Untold hours and millions were spent on regulations – those mentioned above and others besides. Putting the pandemic of Covid-19 aside for a moment, regulation is widely expected to shape agendas in asset management again next year. It’s thought that the AIFMD and Ucits will be studied, perhaps harmonised, alongside other measures that may affect either of the regulations. There is talk of MiFID III. Priips is back on the agenda. Meanwhile, anti-money laundering is a topic that never stands still.
This is our last issue of the year, so a merry Christmas and happy New Year to our readers. Let’s hope that a near-deluge of regulation is all that the industry has to worry about in 2021. Right now, an outbreak of regulation would be a welcome relief.
Nick Fitzpatrick, Group Editor, Funds Europe
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