Investor groups are urging EU officials to re-visit fund information rules, warning that retail investors will not get the information they need and that product-comparison websites could be thwarted in delivering fund comparisons.
Organisations including the CFA Institute are re-igniting the ongoing ‘Priips’ saga ahead of a vote this month by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (Eiopa) – a European Supervisory Authority (ESA) on Level 2 rules.
CFA Institute and Better Finance issued a joint statement urging officials to consider Level 1 rules first, saying it is not in the spirit of EU law to revise Level 2 rules ahead of Level 1.
The issue centres on the Level 1 rules of the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (Priips) regulations, which are said to fail at giving retail investors meaningful information in Key Investor Documents (KIDs).
They said the only recipients of meaningful information would be professional clients, “who need it least”, and that online product databases and web-comparison tools for non-professional investors would be hampered because standardised, long-term performance and cost data would no longer be available.
These problems can only be addressed at the Level 1 stage, according to the CFA Institute and Better Finance.
Ucits funds are exempted and the organisations said this exemption should remain for the time being.
“The EC and ESAs must prioritise and undertake as soon as possible a full review of the Level 1 Priips regulation … [which] is now overdue by more than a year,” the statement said.
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