Publications
& Policy

An Invest Europe briefing paper outlining the key requirements to facilitate and encourage investment in European infrastructure via infrastructure funds.

This PAE response to a European Commission Consultation outlines the main barriers faced by private equity and venture capital fund managers when marketing their funds cross-border. The response focuses in particular on marketing requirements, costs, regulatory fees and taxation barriers. The consultation is part of the Commission's efforts to build a Capital Markets Union in Europe.

A practical guide for pension funds on why and how to invest in private equity and venture capital. Also includes an overview of the benefits and risks involved in private equity and venture capital investments, and the different ways for institutions to access the asset class.

This joint response, with the American Investment Council, outlines why private equity firms and funds do not give rise to policy concerns regarding asset management activities, in particular when it comes to leverage and organisational requirements.

In this response Invest Europe reiterated its concerns about plans to fully harmonise insolvency frameworks across the EU. Rather than being considered barriers to the functioning of the EU internal market, differences between existing national regimes should be seen as offering a greater variety of options for debtors who operate across borders.

The response welcomes EIOPA’s amendments to the definition of ‘infrastructure projects’ and to the relevant qualifying criteria that intend to capture certain type of infrastructure corporates. It stresses however that the proposed definition of ‘infrastructure corporates’ is overly restrictive and might exclude infrastructure corporates that represent suitable infrastructure businesses. It also lies out concerns about EIOPA’s proposal to calibrate capital requirements for infrastructure corporates based on available market data.

With this paper, we responded to all consultations the OECD put forward on BEPS Action Point 6 on Treaty Abuse. Our response explains how private equity funds are not in the business of treaty shopping and suggests a solution based on an investor self-certification approach.

This Position Paper sets out our views on the Commission Proposal for a Prospectus Regulation. This Paper mainly addresses the scope of the Prospectus, the exemption for "sophisticated investors" and the widening of the SME regime to growth companies.

The PAE responded to this consultation to stress that, because private equity firms are rarely recipients of makes market soundings due to the nature of our industry, some of the draft Guidelines may be unnecessarily prescriptive and onerous for them. This responses suggests to ESMA the appropriate level of flexibility in the Guidelines to address this issue.

In this response to DG Justice, Invest Europe welcomes and supports the European Commission’s priority to foster sustainable investments. The document flags the long-term nature of private equity investments and underlines the principles the members of the association have set in the Professional Standards Handbook to promote highest ethical and professional standards within the industry.

In order to ensure that banks will continue to be able to provide necessary services to the private equity industry, the PAE encourages the Basel Committee (BCBS) to review its proposed approach, and in particular the definition of “sponsor”, to avoid capturing bank activities that it believes do not entail any step-in risk. This risk mainly stems from the ambiguity over the concepts of ‘credit enhancement’ and ‘placing securities into the market’.

This Position Paper sets out our views on the Commission Proposal for an Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD). This Paper mainly addresses the question of interest deductibility and the importance of not increasing the cost of financing for the real economy.