Pensions body opposes McCreevy’s EU directive
THE National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has hit back of the proposed Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, branding parts of it “misguided”.
In a letter to the European commissioner for internal market and services Charlie McCreevy, NAPF chief executive Joanne Segars opposed the directive, saying it would reduce investment returns, boost costs and increase risk.
“Our main worries about the (proposed regulations) concern the reduction of investment choice, increased costs and the model of regulation that the directive proposes,” she wrote, adding that reducing the number of managers and the investment options available to investors would stunt diversity.
“For long-term investors like pension schemes, even a relatively small reduction in investment returns (or a relatively small increase in costs), compounded over a number of years, will have a dramatic impact on the affordability of pensions,” she said.
However the NAPF did welcome some aspects of proposals, including the “EU Passport”, which would be needed by alternative investment fund managers to market their products to European investors.
The move by the UK body follows a similar approach from a group of Dutch pension funds and institutional investors.