“If they start drawing lines in the sand on the basis of different uses of terms, there would be no standard calculation for these things. There could be the most severe unintended consequences, such as they could end up with stuff on the OK side of the line that’s more risky.”

—Julie Patterson, director of authorized funds and tax at the Investment Management Association in London, gives her reaction to a discussion paper from the European Securities and Markets Authority on Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities exchange-traded funds and structured UCITS.