The Challenge
The European funds market place is constantly changing and you need to be confident that your current European distribution strategy takes account of the significant tax and regulatory changes taking place?
The barriers to entry are reducing and increased scope for product innovation calls for enhanced efficiency in the distribution chain. Your competitors are actively seeking greater efficiencies and are questioning the necessity for product manufacture and distribution to be replicated across each European jurisdiction. You must have a specific strategy for each target market addressing both distribution and production.
Our Solution
Distribution opportunities
Your product offering must balance market opportunities with investment strengths. This analysis should cover investment objectives, performance, fee structures and share classes. Will you be able to take advantage of future changes in fund distribution, e.g. product rationalisation?
Having devised a distribution strategy, two challenges arise: servicing an increasingly diverse shareholder base and managing multiple distribution channels - negotiating distribution agreements, managing exclusivity arrangements, building links to transaction and settlement systems, third party distribution platforms and information for distributors.
Tax & Legal considerations
You will need to understand and review the tax preferences for investors in different jurisdictions and meet the various tax reporting obligations that may exist. Our centralised UcitsEuroFile™ reporting service can ensure that these tax obligations are satisfied.
Regulatory obligations
Complex rules and regulations existing across your distribution footprint. Each jurisdiction is different and you must be sure that local rules are correctly interpreted and applied. You must be able to adapt to changes in local rules on fund authorisation, marketing, outsourcing, capital, ownership, permitted fund structures and associated investment restrictions. Once distributing you need a process to ensure that local regulatory changes are captured and analysed to keep in compliance and your competitive advantage. Again, our multi-country coordinated fund reporting service known as UcitsEuroFile™ can assist to ensure that all initial fund registration and ongoing reporting obligations are efficiently and effectively managed.
Operational implications
You need to know the operational implications of entering new markets and the most efficient operating model to support your business. How can the operational risks presented by diverse systems and processes across multiple geographies, external service providers and business partners be managed effectively? To what extent can people, systems and processes be centralised on a single platform?
Have you evaluated outsourcing non-core functions, selecting business partners and designing and implementing the business processes to manage the operating structure?
Benefits for you
A successful market entry strategy turns theory into practical solutions. Our global experience indicates that to be a winner you must have defined scope and objectives, rigorous implementation plans, leading edge product innovation and a robust approach to product rationalisation. Strong project management must underpin all of these ingredients.
In Luxembourg, we have focused on the main elements driving fund distribution: Distribution and Product Strategy, Product Structuring, Distribution Platform Design and ongoing compliance and reporting. We provide our clients with specifically designed, practical and effective solutions to their distribution issues that are tested and proven.
Why PricewaterhouseCoopers
We are uniquely placed to help you through our vast experience and unrivalled network of experts who will give you a unique insight into the opportunities, problems and solutions that a market entry strategy will give rise to.
We will be your trusted adviser through our dedicated team of specialists covering a complete distribution service offering in all related fund distribution industries and services.
