My Account
Ongoing Developments in Financial Services Regulation in the EU and UK – Part II
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Both the UK and EU are rewriting the rules on what information must be given to retail investors before they buy investment products — with the goal of making that information clearer and easier to understand. The UK is moving first: its new retail disclosure regime (called "Consumer Composite Investments") will be fully in place by mid-2027. The EU's equivalent reforms for PRIIPs will follow roughly one to two years later.
- Although the UK and EU are legislating separately, both are heading in the same direction: ensuring customers get good value and fair treatment. The UK has had its "Consumer Duty" in place since 2023. The EU is now introducing similar requirements — firms will need to justify their fees and charges and prove that any payments or commissions they receive genuinely benefit the client.
- Both regions are jointly working toward a major infrastructure change: shortening the time it takes to settle securities trades from two days to one ("T+1"), targeted for October 2027. This is a coordinated effort, with UK and EU regulators aligned on timing even though each is legislating independently. Separately, the EU has introduced a rule requiring certain derivatives trading to route through EU-based clearing houses.
A year has passed since we last compared developments in financial services regulation in both the European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom (UK). This included where the respective jurisdictions were diverging and where they were progressing towards similar policy objectives, albeit with different approaches (for example, prescription versus outcomes-based regulatory regimes).
This year, as we revisit these evolving topics, and cover the latest policy developments, we have split our update into three complementary articles. In this, our second article, we look at topics including retail disclosure frameworks, the EU’s Retail Investment Strategy, the FCA’s Consumer Duty and more.
Read the full article
Download the PDF "Ongoing Developments Part 2"
