On 16 July 2021, the European Commission adopted a Directive that amends the UCITS IV Directive as regards the use of key information documents by management companies of undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS).

Article 32 of Regulation No 1286/2014 on key information documents for packaged retail and insurance-based investment products provides for a transitional arrangement whereby management companies, investment companies and persons advising on, or selling, units of UCITS and non-UCITS are temporarily exempted from the requirement to provide retail investors with a key information document. The arrangement currently applies until 31 December 2021. The Directive proposes to extend the transitional arrangement in Regulation No 1286/2014 to 30 June 2022.

Articles 78 to 82, and 94 of the UCITS IV Directive also specify the main principles of key investor information. Commission Regulation (EU) No 583/20102 lays down further rules on its content and format.

At the moment as of 1 July 2022 retail investors in UCITS would receive both a key information document in accordance with Regulation No 1286/2014 and a key investor information document in accordance with the UCITS IV Directive. To avoid a situation where retail investors receive two different pre-contractual disclosure documents in respect of the same UCITS, the Directive ensures that a key information document drawn up, provided, revised and translated for a given UCITS in accordance with Regulation No 1286/2014 is considered as satisfying the key investor information requirements in the UCITS IV Directive.

The Directive enters into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.