Commission asks ESAs for retail product evaluation

The Commission has published its formal request to the ESAs to report to it on the cost and past performance of the main categories of retail investment, insurance and pension products. It notes the reporting should be based on what is required under key EU legislation, and appreciates the amount of work is such that it would be appropriate for the ESAs to apply a staggered approach. The Commission asks that the ESAs apply the principles of:

• Member State by Member State analysis
• comparability of indicators
• legal of aggregation
• net return and impact of costs
• reporting of all fees impacting the net performance of the products
• a time horizon consistent across products and
• taking into account the impact of inflation.

It wants to see both qualitative and quantitative comparisons of costs and performance indicators provided at Member State and EU level. The request sets timescales to meet a deadline of a first report by the end of 2018.