The Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF) issued a regulatory standard setting detailed requirements for how pension fund managers disclose information on closed pension funds, collective subscriptions to open pension funds, and individual subscriptions to open pension funds. The framework operationalises statutory information duties by specifying the mandatory sections, formats and calculation methodologies to be used across pre-contractual and ongoing disclosures, and introduces a distributor-led process to assess the risk profile of potential contributors for individual subscriptions. The rules apply to pension fund management entities authorised to operate in Portugal and, with specified carve-outs, to institutions for occupational retirement provision authorised or registered in another European Union Member State when managing schemes subject to Portuguese social and labour law. Documents must be provided free of charge on a durable medium and follow required minimum content and sequencing without ASF imposing fixed templates. The standard also harmonises quantitative disclosures, including a seven-class risk indicator based on annualised volatility over the last five civil years (using weekly returns, or monthly where weekly data are not available), annualised return measures and historical performance for the last one, three, five and 10 full civil years, and retirement benefit projections (including three economic scenarios for defined contribution plans). Cost disclosures must follow a prescribed cost-matrix structure, and managers must report specified data to ASF via PortalASF for publication on ASF’s website, including commission ranges, an annual management cost rate, guarantees, historical returns and the risk indicator, with reporting triggered by fund launch, contractual changes and annual cycles. For individual subscriptions, distributors must deliver a risk-profile questionnaire and provide a signed assessment declaration covering objectives, risk tolerance and capacity to bear losses, knowledge and experience, and sustainability preferences, and retain the assessment records for ASF upon request. The standard also amends ASF rules on supervisory reporting channels, revokes selected provisions in earlier pension fund standards, enters into force the day after publication, and provides transitional deadlines including a 90-day period to align certain documents and processes, with other periodic disclosures updating at the next scheduled issuance after entry into force.
Portuguese Insurance Regulator (ASF) 2025-04-23
Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority issues new disclosure, cost reporting and risk profiling rules for pension fund products
The Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF) has issued a regulatory standard detailing disclosure requirements for pension fund managers, covering both closed and open funds. It specifies mandatory sections, formats, methodologies, and introduces a distributor-led risk assessment process with a seven-class risk indicator. The standard applies to pension fund managers in Portugal and certain EU institutions, requiring free, durable medium documents and mandates reporting to ASF via PortalASF.