ESMA seeks to provide retail investors with clear, reliable product information
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) today published its Strategy for 2023-2028. In the Strategy, ESMA details its long-term priorities and how it will use its competences and toolbox to respond to future challenges and developments.
ESMA will focus on strengthening supervision, enhancing the protection of retail investors, fostering effective markets and financial stability, enabling sustainable finance, as well as facilitating technological innovation and effective use of data.
ESMA says its aim is that retail investors are provided with clear, reliable and understandable product information.
While ESMA recognises that disclosure has its limits, by providing easy access to high-quality information, the regulator seeks to empower retail investors to make well-informed investment decisions. It will enable access to reliable and comparable information across products by using available regulated information and tools to compare products, their costs, risks and performance.
ESMA will work to implement ESAP providing an effective one-stop shop for regulated information that can be accessed and used easily. It will also work to facilitate comparison across products and sectors (e.g. enabling development of comparison tools for investment funds).
Within the limits of its mandate, ESMA will further facilitate understanding of the products being offered, by contributing to creating conditions that enable :
- reducing the size and complexity of information for investors; and
- simplifying product disclosures and stimulating use of clear language, both in disclosure requirements and in practice.
In this context ESMA will further explore how enabling disclosure of information by layers can contribute to these objectives.