In the latest European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA) report, the funds industry was advised to support the Capital Market Union and embrace technology.
EFAMA’s latest fund processing recommendations report presented recommendations put forward by the Fund Processing Standardisation Group (FPSG).
Fund industry participants were advised to facilitate and improve the level of automation and straight through processing within the European funds industry.
Additionally, they were advised to adopt a revised and more flexible reference and sales data message as an industry standard, as well as the use of ISO standard identifiers, for example, legal entity identifiers.
As well as this, they were encouraged to promote the ISO 20022 as the single European message standard for fund messaging.
EFAMA has also discussed developments in fintech including application programming interfaces (API) and distributed ledger technology (DLT) with market participants.
The association further recommended that automation in the API and DLT areas should be based on open global ISO standards.
Meanwhile, the national initiative for the improvement of cross-border and domestic investment in funds such as France and Italy were encouraged.
According to EFAMA, this demonstrates the ongoing demand for fund processing automation based on standardisation.
In that context, EFAMA revealed, it points out that only when the necessary changes are implemented by all industry players will the benefits be delivered to the market as a whole.
The benefits of a global approach were identified as greater efficiencies, reduced operational risk, and enhanced services through improved response times and standardised interfaces.
Peter De Proft, director general of EFAMA, commented: “With the fifth iteration of our flagship FPSG report, EFAMA is renewing its commitment to lead the funds industry’s efforts to streamline fund processing.”
“If we want to build a long-lasting CMU project, efforts to remove barriers within fund processing globally must continue.”
He added: “One of our key goals for the next few years is to ensure that European fund managers remain as efficient and as cost effective as possible in the context of an increasingly globalized and technology-driven financial services.”
