Publications
& Policy

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.

"This report has two main chapters. In the first chapter, a team of researchers at Cambridge Judge Business School (University of Cambridge) examine the managerial challenges of scale-up. In the second chapter, a team of researchers at the Saïd Business School (University of Oxford) examined the financial challenges"

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.

Drawing on lessons from the provision of water in England, the paper anticipates future developments in the provision of health, exploring the increasing role of finance and financial cultures.

This PAE Response assesses, at the request of the Commission, the combined impact of legislation on our industry and details the situation where existing rules may have a detrimental impact on private equity, venture capital and infrastructure funds without necessarily achieving their proposed objectives. Among the examples given are the absence of a passport for sub-threshold funds and the regulatory treatment of semi-professional investors.

This PAE response comments on the proposed approach taken by the ESAs to determine the Single Risk Indicator and the costs contained in the Key Information Document ("KID"). It argues that the level of risk assigned to private equity is not based on actual data and that carried interest should not be considered as a cost due to its inherent characteristics.

We responded to the consultation on the re-launch of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) focusing on the question of the apparent “debt equity bias”. In this paper, we explain that debt and equity are complementary rather than antagonistic and outline why any moves to limit interest deductibility would increase the cost of financing for businesses. We therefore encourage the maintenance of current rules in this area.

The European Commission Consultation on the review of EuVECA and EuSEF Regulations will precede a new legislative proposal, with the objective of increasing the take-up of the existing regime. The PAE stressed in its response the importance of maintaining the flexibility and freedom of choice of the current regime while increasing its availability for venture capital and smaller private equity managers.

"This paper describes the available data and research on venture capital investments and performance. We comment on the challenges inherent in those data and research as well as possible opportunities to do better."