FCA calls for views on PRIIPs replacement
The FCA has called for views on potential disclosure rules to replace the Packaged Retail Investments and Insurance Products (PRIIPs) regime and the Undertaking of Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) rules.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced plans to scrap both rules on Friday.
Both rules were created while the UK was in the EU.
Firms will be required to continue to follow PRIIPs and UCTIS disclosure requirements until a replacement regime comes into effect.
The FCA is to become responsible for designing and developing new disclosure rules to replace them, including information on costs and charges and levels of investment risk.
The regulator has called for views on when and in what format information can be delivered to consumers to ensure that what is provided is useful and supports the experience of buying a product.
It is also calling for views on who should have responsibility for producing disclosure.
Sarah Pritchard, executive director of markets at the FCA, said: “The current rules make it very difficult for consumers to get the information they need in the way they need it to help them make effective investment decisions.
"We now have the flexibility to design a new regime which is less rigid and more focused on the outcome we are seeking – we want consumers to have the confidence to invest and understand the levels of risk involved.
“This discussion paper aims to seek views from industry and consumers to help us design a disclosure regime that delivers to support that aim, and we welcome views from across the market to help us do so.”
The regulator has called for views on how information could be presented to consumers better, including more interactive disclosure, and whether to introduce the practice of layering, where firms include some information upfront with more detailed information provided later in the process.
The FCA is asking for comments on the discussion paper by 7 March.
The paper can be found and comments submitted on the FCA website.