The European Commission welcomed the political agreement reached on 18 December 2025 between the European Parliament and EU Member States on the Retail Investment Strategy, aimed at strengthening retail investor protection and ensuring that products offered to retail clients provide value for money. The package covers the full consumer investment journey and would amend key EU frameworks, including the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II, the Insurance Distribution Directive, the Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities Directive, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and Solvency II, alongside changes to the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products Regulation. Measures include stronger product design and distribution rules to prevent the offering of products that do not deliver value for money, clearer and more standardised product information and cost presentation adapted to digital channels, and steps to facilitate access to non-complex, broadly diversified and cost-efficient products. It would also require a yearly portfolio performance summary for all retail clients, mandate a feasibility study on a pan-European product information tool, introduce stricter safeguards and transparency where inducements are permitted, make financial intermediaries responsible for marketing communications disseminated via social media or remunerated third parties, adjust criteria for sophisticated retail investors to opt up to professional status, and enhance supervisory cooperation to tackle fraud and malpractices. The provisional trilogue agreement now awaits formal adoption by the European Parliament and the Council. Following adoption, the rules will be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and become effective on the day of publication.

Original source Back to tracker