PRIIPS: Extension of UCITS exemption

In the course of the discussions which took place in the EU Parliament and Council, a proposal to amend the PRIIPs Regulation (EU) 2014/1286 ("PRIIPs Regulation") was added to the Cross-Border Distribution Proposal for a Regulation.

The amendment to the PRIIPs Regulation aimed to push back (i) the UCITS exemption to 31 December 2021 (based on the current provisions of the PRIIPs Regulation, this exemption will be valid until 31 December 2019) and (ii) the European Commission's review of the PRIIPs key information document ("KID")  to 31 December 2019.

In February 2019, an agreement on a final text for this proposal was reached between the EU authorities and on 16 April 2019, just before the EU Parliament's election break, the EU Parliament formally adopted it.

Once the Council has also approved it, the Cross-border Distribution Regulation with the above mentioned amendments to the PRIIPs Regulation will be published in the OJEU.

In Luxembourg, the CSSF has recently published an updated version of its FAQ on UCITS as well as its FAQ on the application of the Law of 12 July 2013 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, as amended ("AIFM Law"), in order to anticipate the extension of the exemption to produce a PRIIPs KID (i) for UCITS and (ii) for AIFs which produce a UCITS-like KIID (Key Investor Information Document).

In addition, in the FAQ on the application of the AIFM Law to which the FAQ on UCITS cross-refers, the CSSF has clarified its position as regards the notification of the final form of a PRIIPs KID of a Luxembourg AIF the units of which are advised on, offered or sold to retail investors. The CSSF confirms that the notification is not mandatory,  however, the CSSF reserves the right to request it on a case-by-case basis. The CSSF also confirms that Luxembourg AIFs that have issued a UCITS-like KIID do not need to file a final version of such document with the CSSF but it may also request it on a case-by-case basis.