Irish Funds celebrates new Brussels office opening
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Irish Funds celebrates new Brussels office opening 30 January 2020Brussels Reporter: Maddie Saghir
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Irish Funds, the representative body for the global cross-border investment funds industry in Ireland, has opened a new office in Brussels after total net assets in Irish-domiciled funds surpassed €3 trillion for the first time.
The new office will serve as an essential hub to engage with EU policymakers and legislators in Brussels and with the European Securities and Markets Authority in Paris on key EU financial services legislation and regulation.
Ireland’s move to increase its presence in Brussels comes at a particularly important time due to the changing dynamic in EU politics.
Irish Funds highlighted that it also comes at a time when acting as a trusted and reliable source of information to policymakers during the process of policy formation is of particular importance.
Presence in Brussels will also help to bolster the organisation’s interaction and collaboration with European industry and other EU member state officials as part of an increased focus on EU advocacy, Irish Funds noted.
The Governing Council of Irish Funds, who represent the association’s 151 member firms, held their first ever board meeting in Brussels yesterday before attending the event where they joined members of the Irish Funds team from Dublin, and Umar Ahmed, head of EU Affairs.
Irish Funds said guests at the launch included European Commission officials, members of the European Parliament, representatives from EU member state delegations and industry representatives.
Speaking at the event, Pat Lardner, CEO of Irish Funds, commented: “We are delighted to open our Brussels office given the importance of a physical presence here in building relationships and engaging with policymakers to continue to help shape the future of our industry.”
“Coming from a small member state we see openness as a strength and a source of competitiveness, not a threat to it. Protecting the single market and encouraging investment and savings in a global world aren’t mutually exclusive. We believe that families saving for their futures want to ensure they meet their end objectives in a sustainable and planned way – our job is to help them get there.”
Later during the speech, Lardner outlined that Ireland currently accounts for 17 percent of all European fund assets and is Europe’s largest exchange-traded funds (ETF) domicile with 60 percent of European ETF assets.
“As Irish domiciled funds surpass €3 trillion total net assets for the first time, it is incumbent on us to ensure we are prepared to support the continued development and growth of saving and investment products,” Lardner added.
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