EUROPE – FEFSI, the European investment funds body, has officially changed its name to the European Fund and Asset Management Association.

“We are very pleased to announce that FEFSI is now officially the European Fund and Asset Management Association,” the Brussels-based body says.

“Almost a year following its decision to bundle forces and welcome corporates as direct members, EFAMA will grant formal membership to some 30 top fund and asset management companies at a General Meeting on March 2,” the group added.

The decision to rename and allow corporate membership follows an abortive merger with the now defunct European Asset Management Association.

The Fédération Européenne des Fonds et Sociétés d'Investissement was founded in 1974 as the pan-European umbrella organisation of the investment funds industry in Europe.

Last week the body’s secretary general warned of over-regulation in the European funds market.

Steffen Matthias told the IFM conference in Geneva that EU regulations were proving a burden for the fund management industry, especially for small firms. The industry should work together to “stop this tendency to over-regulate”, he said in his opening address.