In the mid-80s, through the adoption of Council Directive 85/611/EEC of 20 December 1985 on the coordination of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities, the European Union (" EU ") made its first move with regards to the harmonization of the internal financial market, as it considered that the European Members' legislations differed significantly between each other on matters of collective investment undertakings, particularly, in relation with the obligations and controls which were imposed on said companies. This need to create a harmonized legal framework emerged as a result of the disturbances of the conditions of competition between those entities and the lack of a uniform protection for investors, within the Member States.
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