With less than 2 months to go before the 6th annual Crane's European Money Fund Symposium, which will be held in London, Sept. 20-21, European money fund reforms and issues have suddenly become the biggest topic in the cash world. European regulatory changes went into effect last week (see our July 23 News, "European Money Market Fund Reforms Go Live; Moody's, Fitch Comment"), and money market strategists are handicapping the impacts of changes on cash flows, issuers and fund managers. The FT also wrote this week about one of the major remaining questions marks, whether "share-cancelation mechanisms" are indeed banned under the new rules. We review the latest European Money Fund Symposium agenda and show details below, and we also quote from the FT piece. (Note: We'll be accepting registrations for European Money Fund Symposium all month, but if you plan to attend please make hotel reservations for the Hilton London Tower Bridge asap. Our discounted rate and reserved room block expire on Monday!)
European Money Fund Symposium offers European, global and "offshore" money market portfolio managers, investors, issuers, dealers and service providers a concentrated and affordable educational experience, and an excellent and informal networking venue. Last year's European Money Fund Symposium event in Paris attracted 125 attendees, sponsors and speakers -- our largest European event ever. Given the new money fund regulations in Europe and discussions over "repatriation" of offshore assets back to the U.S., we expect our show in London to attract even more interest this year.
EMFS will be held at the Hilton London Tower Bridge Hotel. Hotel rooms must be booked before Monday, August 6 to receive the discounted rate of £295 inclusive of VAT. Registration for our 2018 Crane's European Money Fund Symposium is $1,000 USD (or £750). Visit www.euromfs.com to register, or contact us to request the PDF brochure or for Sponsorship pricing and info.
Our upcoming London conference features sessions conducted by many of the leading authorities on money funds in Europe and worldwide. The Day One Agenda for Crane's European Money Fund Symposium includes: "Welcome to European Money Fund Symposium" with Peter Crane of Crane Data; followed by "IMMFA Update: The State of MMFs in Europe" with Reyer Kooy and Jane Lowe of IMMFA; "European, Euro, & LVNAV Money Funds," with David Callahan of Lombard Odier, James Vincent of Goldman Sachs, and Caroline Hedges of Aviva Investors; "Senior Portfolio Manager Perspectives," moderated by Dan Singer of J.P. Morgan Securities and featuring Joe McConnell of JP Morgan AM, Jim O'Connor, of Dreyfus/BNY Mellon CIS, and Dan Farrell of Northern Trust AM.
The afternoon will feature: "French & Continental Money Update" with Vanessa Robert of Moody's Investors Service and Alastair Sewell of Fitch Ratings; "U.K. & Sterling MMF Issues" with Phillip Walsh of HSBC Global A.M. and Paul Mueller of Invesco; "U.S. Money Funds vs. European USD MMFs" with Peter Crane of Crane Data, Deborah Cunningham of Federated Investors, and Rob Sabatino of UBS Asset Management; and, "Chinese, Japanese & Australian Money Funds with Andrew Paranthoiene of Standard & Poor's and Alastair Sewell of Fitch Ratings.
The Day Two Agenda includes: "Irish & European Fund Issues" with Pat Rooney of Irish Funds and Rudolph Siebel of BVI; "European Money Fund Reform Roundtable" with Dan Morrissey of William Fry and John Hunt of Sullivan & Worcester LLP; "Money Fund Portals & Distribution in Europe" with Jim Fuell of J.P. Morgan, Ed Baldry of Institutional Cash Distributors, and Sabrina Hartzog of Citibank Online Investments.
The second day's afternoon will include: "Dealer Update and Issuance Outlook," moderated by David Hynes of Northcross Capital LLP and featuring Stewart Cutler of Barclays, Kiernan Davis of BGC Partners, and Marianne Medora of Group BPCE/Natixis; "Ultra-Short Bond Funds & Enhanced Cash" with Abis Soetan of Fitch Ratings, Neil Hutchinson of J.P. Morgan and Peter Yi of Northern Trust; "Strategists Speak: Negative Rates & Reforms" with Vikram Rai of Citi; and "Offshore Money Fund Data & Disclosures" with Peter Crane of Crane Data. We hope to see you in London in September!
In related news, the FT published the article, "FT Brussels rules out share-cancellation mechanism for money market funds." It tells us, "The European Commission has dashed hopes that a so-called share-cancellation mechanism will be allowed under new money market fund rules, putting in question the fate of €100bn invested in the funds. Fund managers had complained that a lack of clarity on the topic was leaving them in limbo and unsure how to prepare ahead of a January 21 deadline, after which they will need to comply with new regulations."
The piece explains, "Fresh rules for Europe's €1.3tn money market fund industry began to be phased in last month after a decade-long effort to restore the reputation of the investments, which had previously been regarded as ultra-safe. Some money market funds have used share-cancellation mechanisms for years, a feature that allows them to retain a stable net asset value. Cancelling shares allows a fund to retain the same value per share even if the value of its assets slip. Investors cherish this predictability and it is a crucial element for the €100bn in euro-denominated funds whose assets are linked to European interest rates."
The Financial Times writes, "The new money market rules, which introduce stress test and liquidity requirements, were drafted by the commission and make no explicit mention of the share-cancellation mechanism. Its use, however, 'would imply the breach of certain provisions of the regulation,' the commission told the Financial Times. It added that it had confirmed with the European Securities and Markets Authority that the share-cancellation mechanism was 'not allowed under the MMF regulation, as clarified in the commission legal service opinion'."
They state, "Last November, Esma told the commission that it wanted to see more legal detail on this element. Brussels later said the mechanism was incompatible with the new regulation. It said on Friday it had shared its legal opinion 'with all stakeholders involved in the MMF industry' but some investors told the Financial Times a lack of detail had created legal ambiguity, leaving them struggling to decode whether share cancellation was allowed."
Finally, the FT quotes, "Regulators should do more work to identify potential flaws with the cancellation mechanism, said Jane Lowe, secretary-general of the Institutional Money Market Funds Association. 'Investors want these products and they’re alarmed they could be taken away,' she said." (For more, see our Feb. 5 News, "EC Letter Bans Reverse Exchanges in New European Money Fund Regs, and our Oct. 2012 News, "World Turned Upside Down: JPM Flex Class For Negative Euro Rates.")
