The asset management sector suffers after that Consob has called for strict compliance with the MIFID, the 2004 European directive that regulates financial intermediation to protect investors. The attention of the supervisory body of the Italian Stock Exchange was above all drawn to the intermediaries of foreign or foreign-invested funds, which represent 70% of the assets of the funds placed in Italy, regarding the distribution of these products to retail customers .
According to the Commission, the selection of products to be offered or recommended to customers "cannot be based on assessments of mere economic advantage for the intermediary, but must be aimed primarily at satisfying the interests of the customers served", reads a note published yesterday in the Consob website. The intervention is motivated by the fact that in the Community context there are still areas of inhomogeneity on the subject of the costs that weigh on collective management products and on the profile of incentive fees (the so-called performance fees). If the national legal system prescribes stringent conditions for the application of this category of commissions for products governed by Italian law, this does not happen in all member states.
Those who suffer particularly after the Consob intervention are Azimut Holding, which in mid-afternoon lost 7,2% a 24,75 euros, and above all Mediolanum, which at the same time shows a drop of 8% a €7,42 per share.
