Publications
& Policy

This response to this Commission Inception Impact Assessment welcomes the Commission consideration to revise the SME definition and suggests this revision should make clear that firms backed by private equity and venture capital investors do not, solely by virtue of that ownership form, fall outside the definition of an SME.

The most comprehensive source of European private equity and venture capital fundraising, investment and divestment data. With statistics on more than 1,200 firms, the 2016 report covers 88% of the €600bn of private equity capital under management in Europe.

Do private equity firms contribute to financial fragility during economic crises? We find that during the 2008 financial crisis, PE-backed companies increased investments relative to their peers, while also experiencing greater equity and debt inflows. The effects are stronger among financially constrained companies and those whose private equity investors had more resources at the onset of the crisis. PE-backed companies consequentially experienced higher asset growth and increased market share during the crisis.

The Invest Europe Annual Report provides an overview of Invest Europe's activities during the 12 months to June 2017 in fields including public affairs, data & research, events and communications. The report includes a financial statement.

Most investors are keenly aware that private equity returns differ substantially not only across funds but can also vary significantly from fund to fund over time. Although some fund managers have generated consistently superior returns for their investors, the generally limited degree of persistence in returns requires a highly disciplined due diligence process in fund selection. As new research finds, the performance of limited partners’ investment portfolios varies almost as much as the net returns of individual private equity funds. As a result, limited partners with superior selection skills have harvested substantially higher risk-adjusted private equity returns than the average public market equivalent would suggest.

This member guide to the AIFMD explains its key provisions and implementing measures from a private equity perspective. It sets out the requirements for general partners and covers the impact on investors and funds of funds.

This response summarises the private equity industry’s position on the criteria that could be used to identify unlisted equity to which a lower risk charge could be applied. It also reiterates our concerns that existing Solvency II capital charges does not reflect the actual risk insurers face when investing in the asset class and argues that it should be significantly lower than the existing 39%. The Call for Evidence is part of the technical work undertaken by EIOPA to advise the European Commission on the reassessment of the risk-weighting for insurers' investments into unlisted equity and debt as part of their Solvency II review in 2018.

The PAE response to this Commission Consultation details the views of the private equity industry on potential changes made to the European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) structure, governance and funding, in particular the suggestion for the ESAs (which include ESMA, EIOPA and EBA) to be funded directly by industry participants.

With the OECD work on Base Erosion & Profit Shifting (BEPS) now nearing its completion, and with various new tax rules having being agreed at EU level to increase transparency, significant reform has been brought about in the tax domain. At Invest Europe, we have contributed to numerous consultations and proposals to ensure that any new rules do not have unintended consequences. This short note brings together our common messaging on tax issues concisely explaining why private equity funds use structures such as holding companies and invest via certain jurisdictions.

In this response to the Commission Inception Impact Assessment on its future proposal on the prudential treatment of investment firms, Invest Europe supports the principle of establishing a prudential regime better tailored to investment firms but details its concerns over a proposal that would not take into account the specificities of the private equity industry

As global challenges remain large, and continue to shape markets, integrating sustainability information is more and more important for investors. This white paper will focus on integrated sustainability, and specifically in how Robeco does this across the entire investment process. This can be narrowed down into ‘seven steps’, or stages, from defining an investment belief, to raising the bar in conjunction with international developments in ESG.

A guide for placement advisers on the application of the Code of Conduct as part of Invest Europe’s Professional Standards Handbook.

This consultation response details what additional actions Invest Europe would like the Commission to take to improve the state of European capital markets. The main focus is put on the improvement of the existing passporting framework (whether through the EuVECA review or limitations to existing fees and charges) and ways to allow an easier access to the asset class for institutional and sophisticated investors.

This Position Paper outlines our reaction to the Commission Proposal for a Directive on preventive restructuring frameworks (the Insolvency Directive) in which we welcome the proposed new rules and outline suggestions for how the proposed Directive could be improved in several areas.

A summary document of Invest Europe 2016 highlights and achievements across public affairs, professional standards, communications, data & research and events.