Publications
& Policy

Invest Europe, as pan-European representative of the private equity and venture capital industry, commits to actively contribute to the EU becoming climate-neutral by 2050, as set out in the European Green Deal.

We support initiatives to decrease cross-border tax frictions, simplify processes and close abusive practices. However, relevant exemptions must be preserved, in order to ensure tax neutrality of funds.

The long-term equity (LTE) category (Article 171a of Solvency II Delegated Acts) is particularly relevant for exposures to private equity and venture capital funds. As the Solvency II Directive only looks at the equity risk from a volatility angle, this position paper explains why this category is an essential element of the framework and how to make existing criteria more workable.

In this letter Invest Europe congratulates the EBA on its suggestion to only include as shadow banking entities managers of funds that are substantially leveraged - but notes that the EBA's definition of shadow banking entities remains too broad and risks capturing entities that are creating little risk.

In this response, we stress that differences between tax deductions of costs related to debt vs. equity should be dealt with in a way that allows for more deductions – not fewer. Furthermore, we make it clear that companies use debt for a variety of commercial reasons, and in no way solely because of tax deductions.

Invest Europe recognises the announcement of the LP-GP ESG Data Convergence Project which seeks to advance an initial set of ESG metrics and mechanisms for comparative reporting of the private equity industry.

In this letter to the European Commission, Invest Europe expresses the industry's ongoing key concerns about SFDR and its interaction with the Taxonomy Regulation. In particular, we encourage the Commission to address and resolve some of the remaining uncertainties through the revisions which we understand may be contemplated to the draft SFDR Regulatory Technical Standards, due to come into effect on 1 July 2022.

In our response to the survey we identify the current challenges and possible solutions to foster innovation. These solutions, which cover 4 different areas, include the identification and removal of regulatory burdens, the creation of a critical mass for VC in Europe through public support and the creation of the right conditions to strengthen patient capital in Europe, amongst others. We believe the implementation of these actions at pan-European level would contribute to strengthen the European innovation ecosystem for the ultimate benefit of European citizens and economy.

In this response, we explain a typical PE structure and the commercial purpose of each of the entities, and why these entities should not fall under the definition of shell entities. We believe that the commercial purpose of an entity is a good indicator for determining whether it is a shell entity or not, and must thus be taken into account in the definition.

This position paper describes the relationship between private equity and retail clients - suggesting key policy changes that could be introduced to make sure large sophisticated investors and small private ones are able to access the asset class directly or indirectly depending on their risk characteristics.

The Markets in Financial Instruments legislation (split into the MiFID Directive and the MiFIR Regulation) covers both business conduct and organisational requirements for investment firms, as well as authorisation requirements for public markets and rules on the admission of financial instruments to trading.

In this response we argue that changes should be made to the definition of a "professional investor upon request" to better acknowledge the features of long-term & sophisticated investors in asset classes such as private equity. We also describe to the European Commission our concerns with the current retail disclosure documents, which are too standardised to give investors an appropriate idea of the real risk and benefits of long-term investments.

This long awaited official Guidance from the European Commission clarifies the application of the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR).

From our industry’s perspective, the letter clarifies that SFDR does apply to all AIFMs carrying out activities in the EU (including those gaining access through NPPRs), and clarifies the definitions of Article 8 and 9 products.

Ahead of the forthcoming AIFMD review, Invest Europe joined forces with other trade associations, such as AIMA, ACC and Inrev, to express our concerns to the European Commission on any changes policymakers are considering making to the AIFMD delegation regime. The letter explains, among others, how the EU benefits from the global nature of the fund management industry and that the EU fund management regulatory framework is robust and fit for purpose.

In this response, we comment on changes that have been introduced by the European Commission as well as present our own suggestions for Guidelines to fully play their role in allowing Member States to deliver aid to innovative and growing companies by providing targeted support to the private venture and growth funds that invest in them.