Financial, Sustainable Finance, ESG Issues, Consob,
Consob draws attention to the current investor protection measures applicable to intermediaries that provide investment services, if they address customers with an offer characterized by sustainability profiles (Attention call no. 1/20 of 12 March 2020).
The so-called ESG issues (environmental, social, governance) have become, increasingly frequently, drivers for the distribution of investment products / services.
Retail savers are also showing attention to “sustainability” profiles when choosing their investments.
Pending the application of the legislative measures on sustainable finance being defined in the European context, the current regulatory framework already provides relevant indications for the intermediaries referred to in the Consob document.
In the “Guidelines on some aspects of the adequacy requirements of” MiFID II “, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recognized as good practice for operators that of assessing non-financial elements when collecting information on client’s investment objectives.
Also in the “Guidelines on the obligations of product governance pursuant to MiFID II”, it explicitly contemplated the possibility of designing and distributing financial products suitable for achieving specific investment objectives such as “green investment” or “ethical investment” .
In the context of the provisions on disclosure to customers, in particular, the obligation to provide the customer with correct, clear and not misleading information is also noted, also with reference to advertising and promotional communications, as well as to the nature and risks of the products offered.
In domestic legislation, the additional information and reporting obligations provided for in articles 136 and 137 of the Intermediaries Regulation n. 20307/2018, relating to products and services qualified as “ethical” or “socially responsible”.
The last reminder reminds that intermediaries give an account of the measures adopted and the controls carried out in the context of the periodic communications sent to Consob pursuant to resolution 17297/2019.
March 16, 2020
Consob source
