The international arm of the Investment Company Institute, ICI Global serves a fund membership that includes regulated funds publicly offered to investors in jurisdictions worldwide, with combined assets of US$19.4 trillion. ICI Global seeks to advance the common interests and promote public understanding of regulated investment funds, their managers, and investors. Its policy agenda focuses on issues of significance to funds in the areas of financial stability, cross-border regulation, market structure, and pension provision. ICI Global has offices in London, Hong Kong, and Washington, DC.

What is ICI Global’s unique role?

International regulatory organisations influence funds and capital markets policy worldwide, and fund activities are increasingly global in terms of investments, business strategies, and regulatory concerns. Global investment funds need a strong and informed resource on issues that cross borders. ICI Global offers full, strong support to globally active funds through unbiased research, policy analysis, operations, issues development, and public communications.

What priorities and policy issues does ICI Global address?

The following list encompasses many, but not all, issues on which ICI Global is active.

• Transnational fund regulation
  • Volcker Rule
  • FATCA and efforts to create a global FATCA-like regime
  • Financial transaction tax (FTT)
  • MiFID
    • Third-country access
    • Transparency waivers
  • UCITS
  • AIFMD
  • EMIR
  • Asia-Pacific cross-border fund distribution
  • Mutual recognition
  • RQFII
  • Financial benchmarks
• Market structure and trading, including such buyside issues as:
  • Order routing and transparency
  • Dark versus lit markets
  • Consolidated tape
  • High-frequency and algorithmic trading
  • Swaps and derivatives
• Role of funds in financial stability
  • Money market funds
  • Securities lending and repo
  • Other ‘shadow banking’ issues
  • Asset management and financial stability
• Retirement savings and pension systems
  • System design
  • Target date funds
  • Default settings
  • Investor education

More information on ICI Global’s policy priorities may be found in our comment letters and ICI Viewpoints blog.

How does ICI Global advocate policy positions?

ICI Global’s senior-level team leverages and builds on ICI’s broad policy and research expertise. As an engaged and respected participant in the global dialogue, ICI Global works on an array of issues with regulators including:

• Financial Stability Board
• International Organization of Securities Commissions
• European Securities and Markets Authority
• US Treasury and other leading national ministries and regulators worldwide
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• International Monetary Fund
• Bank of International Settlements
• Basel Committee

What is the leadership structure of ICI Global?

ICI Global is led by Managing Director Dan Waters, who directed asset management policy for the Financial Services Authority (UK), and acted as a key leader within the organisation for more than a decade. Paul Schott Stevens, in his role as President and CEO of the Investment Company Institute, oversees ICI Global, and Qiumei Yang, CEO of Asia Pacific, leads the Hong Kong office. A steering committee of global fund leaders also guides ICI Global.