Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Council of the EU will resume talks on Tuesday 23 September on the retail investment package proposed in May 2023 by the European Commission to strengthen protection for retail investors. Further progress in the interinstitutional negotiations (trilogue) can be expected on two aspects of the draft legislation.
Firstly, client categorisation, which determines the level of regulatory protection afforded to investors, particularly in the event of an opt-up or opt-down. Secondly, the strengthening of coordination between national and European supervisory authorities with regard to the supervision of investment products.
The politically sensitive points are remaining in the exploratory phase for the time being. Following informal simplification recommendations from the European Commission, the negotiators will discuss two – or even three – other aspects of the draft legislation on Tuesday, as a preparatory step.
On the one hand, the rules impose an obligation on manufacturers to ensure that their investment products offer retail customers a fair value for money. On the other hand, there is the system of inducements paid by manufacturers to distributors or intermediaries, with the risks of conflicts of interest that these practices can engender.
The rules on transparency and clarity of the investment journey for a retail client (investor’s journey), from initial information to post-sale monitoring, could also be the subject of discussions. Further recommendations from the European Commission on this point are also expected.
According to one source, these three issues, which are particularly sensitive from a political point of view, are not due to be the subject of real negotiations until the end of October.
At the beginning of July, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU had already agreed on rules concerning ‘finfluencers’, the training of financial intermediaries and the establishment of platforms for the exchange of best practice in financial education (see EUROPE 13678/32). (Original version in French by Bernard Denuit)