FCA finalises UK disclosure framework for Consumer Composite Investments

What does this mean?

The FCA has replaced the PRIIPs Regulation and the UCITS disclosure regime with a single UK-specific framework underpinned by the Consumer Duty. The intent of this regime is to support more informed retail investor decision-making through clearer, more engaging and comparable information. The FCA also views these changes as closely linked to its advice guidance boundary reforms, together creating a more coherent approach to helping consumers navigate investment choices.

Scope of the regime 

The rules will apply to any firm that manufactures, advises on, offers or sells a CCI to a UK retail investor. Any person engaged in one or more of these activities will be subject to the FCA’s retail disclosure rules. This includes operators of Overseas Funds Regime (OFR) recognised schemes. 

Definition of a CCI

UK legislation defines a CCI as an investment where returns depend on how an underlying or reference asset performs, or how its value changes over time. This definition captures a wide range of products including open ended funds, recognised funds, closed ended investment funds, structured products, structured deposits, contracts for difference, insurance-based investment products and other complex instruments. 

The legislation also specifies categories that are out of scope. For example, pure protection insurance contracts, non-structured deposits, certain non-equity transferable securities including corporate bonds, occupational pension schemes or personal pension schemes. 

Key components of the CCI regime:

Requirements for manufacturers

Manufacturers must prepare a consumer-friendly product summary that presents mandatory core information using clear and accessible language. The summary must include product features, the ongoing costs figure, one off costs, transaction costs, the risk and return score and past performance. Beyond the summary, there should also be ‘sufficient and appropriate’ information about the CCI’s target market, its assessment, any relevant risks identified to retail investors, and its distribution strategy. Firms can add additional information where they believe it will support clearer consumer understanding. 

The product summary and the underlying machine-readable information must be made available to distributors and must be published on a publicly accessible website. The summary must be reviewed and updated at least annually or sooner where needed to remain accurate.

Under the new approach, manufacturers will have greater freedom to design and present information compared with the prescriptive templates under PRIIPs and UCITS. The FCA expects manufacturers to test communications, avoid jargon and innovate in how they explain investment concepts. 

Requirements for distributors 

Distributors must not sell a CCI to a retail investor without providing an up-to-date product summary. There will be flexibility in how distributors provide information to investors, but they must highlight key information from the product summary before a sale occurs.  

At a minimum this includes a brief explanation of the product, the ongoing costs figure and other relevant costs, and the risk and return score together with an explanation of the product’s risk profile. Distributors must provide the full product summary in a durable medium as soon as reasonably practicable after the sale. 

In a change to the previous consultation, distributors cannot amend, edit or reformat the manufacturer’s product summary. They may provide additional material separately if it supports consumer understanding and does not contradict or obscure information provided by the manufacturer, for example context around value.

Product summary requirements

The FCA intends the required minimum disclosures to establish a minimum standard of comparability across CCIs. The core information must cover:

• General product characteristics, e.g. its type, an explanation of the nature and objective of the CCI, the type of investor for whom it is designed, early exit implications, availability of redress, complaints information information and certain funds information, where applicable.

• Costs and charges (direct and indirect) e.g. ongoing charges, one-off fees, transaction costs, performance fees and carried interest, along with the required explanations, descriptions, or additional information (such as a plain-English explanation of what each figure represents); ongoing costs no longer include one-off costs, as previously consulted upon.

• Risk and return e.g. the risk and return score on a scale of one to ten, a narrative explanation of the score and additional risk and return information; again this has been tweaked from previous consultations including increased flexibility for risk ratings for illiquid funds and a ten-year (rather than five year) standard deviation measure.

• Past performance: where past performance information is available, the product summary must include a line graph for the relevant period along with certain accompanying information and warnings. Depending  on the CCI, information about the performance of the benchmarks may be required

Cooperation and information sharing

Manufacturers and distributors are expected to take reasonable steps to cooperate and ensure accurate and timely information sharing. Manufacturers must respond to distributor feedback and distributors must assess whether the information provided enables them to meet the Consumer Duty.

What do firms need to do?

The FCA expects firms to plan early, coordinate across the distribution chain and engage with any operational complexity during the transition. Strong governance and implementation planning, with Board or senior management oversight, will help firms manage transition timelines and ensure end-to-end readiness.

Manufacturers and distributors should engage with each other early to manage operational complexity and ensure disclosures obligations are met by 8 June 2027. It may be helpful to assess ways to enhance coordination across the distribution chain and improve information sharing.

Firms should start with a gap analysis against the final rules, particularly around product classification, governance, and content of disclosures. Manufacturers must review how products are documented and disclosed, identifying any areas requiring consumer testing or redrafting.

Relying on existing PRIIPS/UCITS disclosures will not be sufficient for FCA’s desire to see a step-change in consumer engagement and understanding. New, possibly technology-driven solutions, with robust consumer testing and cross-distribution chain engagement will be needed.

Asset managers in scope of the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) and investment labelling regime should consider how to align their consumer-facing disclosures under SDR with wider retail disclosures under the CCI regime, to streamline communications, reduce duplication and deliver a more coherent investor experience.

Next steps

Manufacturers may begin producing product summaries from 6 April 2026 once the legislation commences. There will be an optional 18-month transition period where firms may continue using PRIIPs and UCITS disclosures. 

However, the full regime applies to all manufacturers and distributors from 8 June 2027.