Réponse de l’AFG à la consultation de l’ESMA sur son projet de guidelines sur la dénomination ESG des fonds

On 16 February 2023, the Association Française de la Gestion financière (AFG) published its response to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) Consultation Paper On Guidelines on funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (ESMA34-472-373) of of 18 November 2022, which invited comments to be filed until 20 February 2023.
To recall, at the end of November, ESMA launched a consultation on draft guidelines on the use of the terms „ESG“ and „sustainable“ in the names of funds. ESMA wishes to introduce constraints to allow communication in the name of funds with ESG, sustainable terms or derivatives of these terms. ESMA intends to publish its final guidelines in Q2 or Q3 2023, for application 3 months after publication. A transition period will be provided for existing funds.
[In its response to the above consultation], the AFG highlighted the following points in particular:
– Questions about the timetable for this initiative were raised, which could interfere with other initiatives and publications (response from the European Commission to responses from ESAs, consultations with ESAs on greenwashing, etc.). In this context, the need for the guidelines to be aligned and integrated into these future European works.
– It is recalled that the introduction of “thresholds“ on elements that are not or poorly defined („sustainable investment“ in particular) could have a negative impact on the development of the sustainable finance market. In this context, the need for clarifications on various elements.
– The use of these thresholds could also be a source of confusion: investors do not necessarily have a different vision of the terms „ESG“ and „sustainable“, the MiFID sustainability preferences also referring to the term „sustainable“ (without necessarily making the link with sustainable investment within the meaning of SFDR).
– Lastly, the AFG also comments more precisely on ESMA’s proposals and proposes alternatives (on the different thresholds, derivatives, and impact).