At the Annual General Meeting of EFAMA held in Bucharest on the 13th June 2014, Kenneth Farrugia, Chairman of the Malta Funds Industry Association (MFIA) was appointed on the Board of Directors of European Funds and Asset Management Association (EFAMA).

EFAMA is the representative association for the European investment management industry, the fastest developing sector in the field of financial services. Through its 27 member associations and 62 corporate members, EFAMA represents about EUR 17 trillion in assets under management of which EUR 9.8 trillion were managed by over 55,000 investment funds at end December 2013. MFIA's appointment to the Board of EFAMA follows a two year Observer member status.

Kenneth Farrugia said that "this development is an important milestone in the history of the Malta Funds Industry Association. Malta's transition from a domestic to a European fund domicile has brought about unprecedented benefits to various stakeholders which amongst others include lawyers, auditors, directors, investment committee members, asset managers, fund administrators and custodians. Over these last ten years, the funds industry has come a long way and clearly the various initiatives organised by the Association, with the support of FinanceMalta, aimed at strengthening Malta's value proposition, have positioned Malta as a European fund domicile with a strong value proposition".

During his address to the board of directors of EFAMA, which is represented by national associations from, primarily, EU member state countries and 7 corporate members that include the likes of UBS, Blackrock and Allianz, Kenneth Farrugia highlighted the key milestones achieved by the funds industry in Malta and the role played by the Association through its members. The discussions during the event focused on the scale of regulatory initiatives emerging from the EU and the rest of the world such as PRIPS, MiFID, UCITS V, and the impact of their implementation.

However, Mr Christian Dargnat, President of the EFAMA board said that despite these challenges, the overall future outlook for the industry is positive noting that despite the temporary setback in the long-term growth of assets managed by the industry as a result of the financial crisis, various studies now predict a rise to about $100 trillion by 2020, equivalent to a compound growth rate of nearly six per cent in the coming years.

Malta's presence on the Board of EFAMA will enable the Association to be an active participant in the multi-faceted developments shaping the European Funds Industry which will in turn be relayed to the members of the Association in Malta. Through this development, the members of the MFIA will be benefiting from significant value added as the asset management industry is currently going through a profound change which is significantly impacting the business and operational models of asset managers as well as that of other stakeholders such as custodians, fund administrators, fund distributors, investment advisors and other service providers. It is therefore critical for operators to be kept up to date with trends and developments shaping the future state of play of the industry.