PRIPs
The retail investment market is largely dominated by "packaged retail investment products" (PRIPs). These provide retail investors with easy access to financial markets, but can be complex for investors to understand. Those selling these products can also face conflicts of interest since they are often remunerated by the product manufacturers rather than directly by the retail investors.
A complex patchwork of regulation has grown up to address these risks, and inconsistencies and gaps in the patchwork have raised concerns as to the overall effectiveness of the regulatory regime, both in relation to its capacity to protect investors and its ability to ensure the markets work efficiently. These concerns have been further heightened by the impact of the financial crisis.
On 26 November 2010, the European Commission launched a public consultation on the PRIPs initiative, which aims at raising standards of protection for retail customers.
The consultation sought feedback from stakeholders on the next steps to be taken in improving the European regulation of the retail investment market. The Commission committed in 2009 to developing legislative proposals for raising standards of investor protection and improving the consistency of existing measures across the different sectors making up the retail investment market. This consultation represents a next step in this work.
The consultation was closed on 31 January 2011.
After consulting its member associations, BIPAR submitted its response to the Commission’s consultation.
