HM Treasury wants to pass legislation to extend the current exemption for Undertakings for the collective investment in transferable securities (Ucits) funds from the requirements of the Packaged Retail Investment and Insurance-based Products (Priips) regulation.
Currently, Ucits funds don’t have to abide by the Priips regulation in the UK, which means that they are not required to provide a key information document (Kid), but need to instead produce a key investor information document (Kiid), under the requirements of the Ucits directive.
The exemption expires on 31 December 2021, however HM Treasury said it intends to pass legislation in order to extend the deadline for a further five years to 21 December 2026.
This will be possible via a power that it was granted under the Financial Services Act 2021, which allows it to extend the current exemption for a further five years if required, the Treasury said.
It added: “While the current exemption will be extended by five years, depending on from the result of HM Treasury’s review of the UK retail disclosure regime, changes to the Priips regulation may be made – or a successor regulation may be introduced – sooner than 2026.
“In this scenario, considerations would be made to ensure a smooth transition to the new regime for all retail investment product providers, including those marketing Ucits funds.”