A few days ago, I was asked if the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and the respective definitions and classifications within the EU Taxonomy are the gold standard for sustainable investing which should be used as a blue print for global regulations. My answer to this question was no. Despite the fact that I think that SFDR and the respective reporting duties under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID 2) are a good starting point, I think there are still too many blind spots within the regulations which leave too much room for interpretation and may therefore lead

In this in-depth podcast, Steve Kenny, Director of Wholesale Business at Kames Capital, examines some of the complex and difficult business challenges currently facing the U.K. and European mutual fund industry. 2017 was a year where many fund groups were dealing with Mifid 2 implementation, but there is also a raft of other regulatory considerations facing fund groups. The uncertainty posed by Brexit makes the issue of pan-European fund distribution yet more complex. Mr. Kenny considers these issues within the framework of ongoing fund house and distributor consolidation, fee compression, costs and customer transparency. He also outlines how fund groups

The year 2017 was a record year for the European fund industry, with inflows into mutual funds reaching a new all-time high, in conjunction with a generally positive market environment driving the assets under management to a new all-time high. Chart 1: Assets Under Management in the European Fund Management Industry Source: Lipper With this tailwind the European fund industry should be in a good position to maintain its growth in 2018, if the general environment for the securities markets stays positive. That said, the year 2018 started with a bumpy ride for a number of European asset managers that