Here you will find the latest insights, interviews and analyses on asset management, sustainability and developments within the sector. DUFAS provides in-depth information and context on topics that affect our sector. Sign up for our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn for even more updates!
As DUFAS we welcome the European Commission's proposal to revise the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) as a significant and much-needed step forward for the EU sustainable finance framework. We reiterate our strong support for the SFDR and its core objectives of enhancing transparency, strengthening investor confidence, and supporting the transition to a more sustainable economy. The proposed shift toward a product-focused framework, combined with a simplification of entity-level requirements, marks an important improvement in making the regulation more practical and effective. At the same time, we recommend several targeted improvements to ensure that the revised framework is workable in practice, supports capital allocation to sustainable activities, and enhances comparability for investors. The DUFAS position statement, prepared by our SFDR Expert Group, contains several key recommendations, including:
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The Dutch financial sector is calling on political parties to ensure strong Dutch representation on the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) committee even after the European elections.
In the run-up to the European Elections, Ellen Boelema (VVD), Jolein Baidenmann (GroenLinks-PvdA), Sander Smit (BBB), Mazdak Soltani (Volt) debated EU financial issues. The central question was how to strengthen the European capital market union.
As part of the next European political mandate, we call on the EU institutions to strengthen the European Capital Market Union (KMU). This is an important part of facilitating sustainability transitions and efforts to achieve strategic autonomy. In addition, improving the KMU is necessary to keep Europe's internal market competitive. On behalf of the Dutch asset management sector, we have therefore drawn up a number of priorities and proposals. With these we can work towards a strong and competitive European capital market union that is ready for the future.
This week, the four forming parties presented the outline agreement "Hope, Guts and Pride. Business climate and competitiveness are high on the agreement's agenda. An important signal to the Dutch business community, which we at DUFAS welcome. At the same time we want to continue to urge a new cabinet to focus on stability, security and clear climate goals.
European elections will take place next month. Leading up to it, we share some priorities for the upcoming European legislative cycle. These include a number of concrete proposals in the areas of capital markets union, sustainability and retail investment.
As of Jan. 17, 2025, financial institutions must comply with the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA). To make it easier to amend contracts, industry associations DUFAS, VV&A, the Pension Federation and the Association of Insurers have created a market standard in the form of a template amendment that contains all the necessary clauses.
Banks, insurers, pension funds and asset managers will intensify their commitment to financing the energy transition. The new Climate Commitment Work Plan sets out how the financial sector will continue to fulfill its international pioneering role in the climate field. For example, financial parties will further deepen and exchange knowledge and experience in this field among themselves and together with external partners.
Strengthening the capital market union is top of mind in Brussels. Recently, former Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta published the report "Much more than a market." Letta delivered an opinion for the European Council on how to proceed with the European capital market union.
Earlier this year, the European Commission published a white paper and accompanying consultation on "outbound investments" as part of the European Economic Security Strategy. In it, the EC mentioned that investments in third countries in a number of critical technologies could risk EU know-how being used to undermine international peace and security. These are mainly technologies suitable for enhancing military and intelligence capabilities.
In this series, we engage with leading figures in the asset management industry and beyond. To kick things off, we spoke with Marnix Kluiters, founder of the podcast Ecosophy.
The European Parliament recently proposed the introduction of an independent comparison tool for various investment products. Randy Pattiselanno talks more about this in his latest column on Investment Officer.
At the end of 2023, the Tax Qualification Policy of Legal Forms Act was passed. This law introduces from January 1, 2025 a new framework to assess whether (foreign) legal forms qualify as transparent or non-transparent for tax purposes. What matters for foreign legal forms is whether they are comparable to a Dutch legal form.
