If you want to get an idea of the mood in the investment management industry, there’s no better place to put out your feelers than the Fund Forum in Monaco. At this annual event, the entire industry gets together to tackle the big topics of the day. In recent years, the conference has been marked by a certain degree of uncertainty. Hefty international reforms- like AIFMD, PRIPS and UCITS V – were on the table but yet to be finalised. This being the case, there was much speculation and more than a little concern about what the laws would ultimately look like and what their impact would be. This year, however, I expect that things may be different.
If you want to get an idea of the mood in the investment management industry, there’s no better place to put out your feelers than the
Away with uncertainty, bring back the confidence
My prediction is that – if this year’s Fund Forum were an episode of ‘Friends’ – it would be ‘the one where they got their confidence back’. The reason for this is simple: the uncertainty is over and we now know where we stand. AIFMD is here, we’re on track to deal with it and – as Ignites reported this week – it’s not going to be as costly as many feared. Similarly, PRIPs and UCITS V have also reached the end of their regulatory trail. Asset Managers finally have the information they need to embark on their very own journey towards ensuring compliance across the board. So where does this leave the industry?
Extract the juices
Now the details have been ironed out, we can go further than just reading and applying the laws … we can begin to extract their juices. This year I’ll be at the event with Charles Muller, Chrystelle Veeckmans, Vincent Heymans, Walter Koob, Pascale Leroy, Marc Haan and Petra Schreiner. I have a feeling that talk in the conference hall, backstage and at the various dinners and gatherings will not only focus on the implementation of the laws, but also on the opportunities to be found now that we have clarity.
More to come
The release of our report next week – Evolving Investment Management Regulation report now released –will give those pondering such opportunities some tasty morsels to chew on. Stay tuned for the report and our news on whether this prediction for the conference will ring true.
Follow this link to see the rest of the series: KPMG at the Fund Forum 2014
