Amid geopolitical uncertainty, global investment fund flows [1] remain positive. Whatever the region, investors proved resilient, despite slower inflows in the first quarter of 2026. Yet, fund buyers and distributors face a paradox: an unprecedented level of choice and complexity in funds and distribution network, paired with the challenge of selecting the right path forward.
In this Q& A, Paul Daly and Giuseppe Malinverni explore recent trends in fund distribution and share how BNP Paribas, through strategic partnerships with Allfunds, delivers efficient, connected solutions that help clients thrive in an European interconnected landscape.
2026 fund distribution landscape in Europe
Q: The fund distribution landscape in Europe is being reshaped with recent moves. What are the most recent developments?
Giuseppe Malinverni: First, the consolidation of investment platforms in Europe has further accelerated in 2026 with Deutsche Börse[2] signing a recommended acquisition agreement[3] for Allfunds Bank. As a reminder, the two other major players in Europe are Euroclear Fundsplace and Fund Channel.
If regulators give the green light[4] to Deutsche Börse operation, that can potentially lead to one platform servicing about EUR 7 trillion of fund assets. The first three European platforms would service more than 60%[5] of the European fund assets!
This is good news for fund buyers, who are looking for scale and access to a greater variety of traditional and alternative assets in a cost-effective way. Platforms have diversified their offer, expanding into alternative asset management markets and facilitating fund buyers’ purchase of private assets and hedge funds.
On the distribution side, fund distributors are also requiring more efficient and innovative methods to sell their funds across different markets. Fund houses are looking to benefit from the increasing reach, digital connectivity and tailor-made experiences that platforms can offer.
Then, don’t underestimate the key influence of the regulatory framework! As an example in Europe, MiFID[6] evolution and MISP[7] impact to the cross-border regulations are likely to drive investment firms to re-engineer their data pipelines to further match unified EU templates. As intermediaries, platforms can play a valuable role in facilitating these data enhancements, especially if they have access to increasing data sources through scale and consolidation.
Perspective on fund distribution in Europe
Q: Recent decades have seen huge growth in cross-border fund distribution, especially in leading domiciles such as Luxembourg and Ireland. Is this likely to continue? What will facilitate more efficient distribution?
GM: the panorama has been quite stable for some years.
- Cross-border registrations have kept increasing steadily in the last 10 years, despite the growth has plateaued in comparison to asset one.
- The domicile of funds distributed on a cross-border basis is heavily concentrated in Luxembourg (51% of funds) and Ireland (39%)[8].
- And, the growth of investment platforms as a key distribution channel is contributing to facilitate cross-border distribution.
Then the European Commission proposed the MISP reform in December 2025. They aim to further reduce barriers to cross-border distribution of investment funds and create a more harmonised cross-border set of rules.
I believe this reform will reinforce existing trends in the funds market: more efficiency, more simplification, more scale.
Challenges in fund buying and distribution
Q: What are the obstacles that firms currently face when buying and distributing funds?
GM: Fund buyers and distributors managed more and more diversified fund investment book. They have to manage the ‘’hidden complexities’’ of placing and settling orders in different markets and fund types; back-office costs can really stack up. For example, functions such as settlement, reconciliation, rebate fee management, corporate actions and data management all need to be managed separately, which can represent a significant challenge from a cost and profitability perspective.
Paul Daly: Indeed. It’s not just about cost. Firms need significant operational resources and expertise to manage and connect to different Transfer Agents, and follow different market practices in all of the countries in which their funds are domiciled.
Data management can prove particularly challenging.
Firms need to access and aggregate data from a range of sources across markets and distribution channels, in order to analyse fund performance and flows at market, portfolio and fund level. When you add in the growth of non-traditional assets, the increasing reporting requirements and the demands from investors for reporting on ESG-related factors, this can create a huge operational burden for distributors.
The solution to fund distribution complexity
Q: So what is BNP Paribas doing to reduce this complexity in the fund distribution process?
PD: As Securities Services partner, we provide a single point of contact for our clients to place their investment orders, across all asset classes and funds. Our combined approach with Allfunds means that fund buyers have a streamlined, automated process to buy and sell fund shares, as well as manage the back-office functions such as dealing, cash movements, reconciliation and reporting.
Our Fund@ccess solution aims to enhance operational efficiency for fund buyers. It enables them to take advantage of the scale of the Allfunds network (1,700+ fund houses and 100,000+ funds[9] available) while alleviating the operational and resource burdens.
Finally, this strategic partnership can provide firms with more quality data, enabling clients to analyse their fund flows across asset classes and markets in a more sophisticated way. By connecting to the ‘Allfunds Connect’ service, firms can compare and track over 230,000 funds and deep dive into their portfolios at market, fund and entity level. Through this improved intelligence on fund flows, modelling of future scenarios, and ease of reporting, our hope is that this will encourage firms to pursue their product development and market growth plans.
Partnership with Allfunds
With BNP Paribas / Allfunds partnership, live since more than six years now, institutional investors benefit from:
- A streamlined, automated process to buy and sell unit shares
- Access to a wide choice of mutual funds, hedge funds and ETFs
- Advanced fund data and analytics to analyse funds
- Smooth management of back-office functions including dealing, cash movements, reconciliation and reporting
To find out more about our Fund@ccess solution in partnership with Allfunds, BNP Paribas clients should contact their Relationship Manager for further information
Article updated in September 2026
[1] https://www.efama.org/sites/default/files/files/international-statistical-release-q1-2026_0.pdf
[2] Owner of Clearstream Fund Services
[3] Deutsche Börse Group and Allfunds Group Sign Agreement on Recommended Acquisition of Allfunds Group
[4] Decision due in Q1 2027
[5] Data from : public data from Allfunds, Clearstream, Euroclear and efama-fact-sheet-may-2026.pdf
[6] Markets in Financial Instruments Directive
[7] Market Integration and Supervision Package
[8] https://www.pwc.lu/en/fund-distribution/docs/pwc-poster-gfd-2026.pdf
[9] Source : Allfunds, 2026
