EFAMA welcomes todays adoption of the European Parliament Motion for a Resolution on the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 on key information documents for PRIIPs, which:
objects to the Commission delegated regulation
calls for a postponement of the application date of the PRIIPs Regulation

EFAMA firmly believes that the PRIIPs KID is a powerful instrument to ensure that consumers receive the right information before making their investment choices. Asset managers know how important it is that investors and their advisers are given meaningful, comprehensible and comparable information to make sound investment decisions. It is therefore crucial to get the PRIIP KID right the first time around to ensure consumers find it helpful before making their investment choices.

Asset managers have long argued that the draft RTSs, as endorsed by the European Commission, will not achieve the intended objective to make the KID helpful to consumers. They will at best confuse investors, at worst mislead them.

The European asset management industry is absolutely convinced that the RTSs must be amended in a satisfactory way to serve their purpose for consumers. They need to be amended to solve flaws and the key ones are allowing past performance so the investor can see if the asset manager has met its objectives in the past, and fixing the inaccurate calculation methodology of transaction costs. Investors must have the basic facts of what their investment will bring in terms of risks and costs. This is fundamental in terms of trust and confidence from consumers.

We trust todays adoption will result in amended RTSs that will help and inform consumers. The current draft RTSs do not.

Peter De Proft, EFAMA Director General, commented: "We want to be crystal clear. EFAMA would not like to reopen discussions on the PRIIPs Level 1 Regulation, save for a postponement of the Regulation's application date. What is crucial now is to get the Level 2 right - and this means appropriately amending the draft RTSs, while leaving untouched the letter and spirit of the Level 1 Regulation."

But timing is of essence, and Efama has also welcomed the EP's call to the EC to consider a delay in the applicate date of the PRIIPs Regulation.

Alexander Schindler, EFAMA President, commented: "Market operators will apply the rules and want to do so appropriately. This is our wish and our intention. However, legal unclarities and flaws in the rules do not make this objective feasible. The premise to do this is to know the final rules, and to have sufficient time to implement them. There is only one reason why we find a delay absolutely essential, and this is because it is materially impossible and simply unrealistic for product manufacturers and distributors to meet the 31 December 2016 deadline. We would suggest a delay of 12 months. We urge the Commission and the European Supervisory Authorities to follow suit to todays call from the European Parliament and begin the process of amending the RTSs, and we trust they will consider the concerns of investors and asset managers.

- Ends -

For media enquiries, please contact:

Peter De Proft,
Director General

About the European Fund and Asset Management Association (EFAMA):
EFAMA is the representative association for the European investment management industry. EFAMA represents through its 28 member associations and 62 corporate members EUR 21 trillion in assets under management of which EUR 12.6 trillion managed by 56,000 investment funds at end 2015. Just over 30,000 of these funds were UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investments in Transferable Securities) funds, with the remaining 25,900 funds composed of AIFs (Alternative Investment Funds). For more information about EFAMA, please visit www.efama.org