Mercer called on the European Commission to rewrite its directive that would significantly increase regulations on alternative investment managers, saying the current proposal before the European Union would be too costly and restrictive to institutional investors.
In a news release today, Mercer said it supports regulations that would improve disclosure; improve the use of third parties on administration, valuation and governance; fix the misalignment of interests on some fee structures; and align liquidity terms.
However, it claims that the proposed EU regulations would be too costly and may prevent investors from investing outside the EU.
“Our pension fund clients agree that the industry needs improvement and better supervision,” Robert Howie, alternatives researcher at Mercer, said in the news release. “However, they also need choice and value for money. They are worried that restricting the pool of alternatives managers will limit their options for achieving returns and diversifying their investment portfolios.”
The directive, authored by the European Commission, could be approved by the European Council and Parliament as early as December.
