On 6 January 2026, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its third report on marketing requirements and marketing communications under the Regulation on cross-border distribution of funds (Regulation (EU) 2019/ 1156, the Regulation).
Background
The Regulation provides that, by 30 June 2021 and every second year after this, ESMA shall submit a report to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission which presents an overview of marketing requirements in all Member States and contains an analysis of the effects of national laws, regulations and administrative provisions governing marketing communications based on the information received from Member State competent authorities (NCAs).
Summary
ESMA highlights that, drawing on input from NCAs, the report finds that national rules governing the marketing of funds have not undergone significant changes since the publication of the second report in 2023.
Also, for the first time in this report, ESMA provides statistics on the volume of cross-border fund notifications which it has retrieved from its database which lists all notifications of cross-border marketing of funds.
In particular, two key findings are that:
- Luxembourg and Ireland are the leading notifying jurisdictions, accounting for 59% and 30% respectively.
- UCITS notifications comprise 56% of total fund notifications, while alternative investment funds account for 44%.
Next steps
ESMA confirms that the report will now be submitted to the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission.