The European Fund and Asset Management Association has published a position on the Anti-Money Laundering Authority's consultation on draft regulatory technical standards for customer due diligence, warning that the current text would create additional barriers to domestic and cross-border sales of investment funds. EFAMA says the proposal could reduce the availability of EU investment funds for EU and international investors and put pressure on the UCITS framework's role in global distribution. Its main concern is that fund distribution is usually carried out through other entities, making customer due diligence on underlying investors redundant and counterproductive for asset managers. The association argues that anti-money laundering rules need to reflect the sector's specific features and existing mitigants for money laundering and terrorist financing risk, and warns that duplicative obligations, including unnecessary visibility into intermediaries' client bases, could make EU and global distribution models unworkable. EFAMA is urging AMLA to revise the draft RTS through the consultation process so that harmonised due diligence rules properly recognise the characteristics of asset management.
European Fund and Asset Management Association 2026-05-12
European Fund and Asset Management Association warns Anti-Money Laundering Authority due diligence draft could disrupt EU and global fund distribution
The European Fund and Asset Management Association has published its position on the Anti-Money Laundering Authority’s draft regulatory technical standards for customer due diligence, warning that the current text would create barriers to domestic and cross-border fund sales and reduce the availability of EU funds. EFAMA argues that requiring asset managers to perform due diligence on underlying investors, where distribution is through intermediaries, is redundant and risks making distribution models unworkable. It calls on the Authority to revise the standards so that harmonised rules reflect the asset management sector’s specific characteristics and existing risk mitigants.