The Investment Management Association has raised concerns that the European Commission’s ‘Packaged Retail Investment Products’ regime will be implemented through three different pieces of legislation.
IMA director of authorised funds and tax Julie Pattison says the IMA welcomes the Prips initiative but she has worries about its delivery.
She says: “The Commission must ensure that all competing investment products are subject to the same overarching set of disclosure rules across the European Union. Legislation must create a harmonised approach to selling practices for all Prips and align requirements to benefit consumers. If Prips is to deliver on its stated aim of making products transparent and comparable for consumers, the same disclosure and marketing rules must apply across the board.”
In December 2010, Aifa has warned that a European regulatory clampdown on packaged retail investment products will introduce unneeded complexity to the market. It says the European Commission’s Prips rules may be appropriate for other European states but they are not appropriate for UK IFAs who will be working under new RDR rules.