The European Union’s Council and Parliament have agreed on an updated retail investment framework aimed at strengthening consumer protection, improving transparency and boosting confidence in the bloc’s financial markets, according to an official EU release.
The reform, part of the EU’s broader savings and investments union, seeks to widen access to efficient investment and financing options for households and businesses while simplifying and harmonising rules across financial sectors. Under the new framework, consumers will receive the same level of clear information and fair treatment regardless of the investment product or distribution channel used.
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Investment firms will be required to identify and quantify all costs and charges linked to the products they recommend, while standardised disclosures on costs, risks and expected returns will be made more visible and accessible to help investors make informed decisions. The package also modernises investor protection rules to ensure consistency across banking, insurance and capital markets.
To address conflicts of interest, the agreement strengthens rules on inducements such as commissions and non-monetary benefits received by advisers, while allowing member states to maintain or introduce full inducement bans if they choose. At the same time, the framework aims to avoid unnecessary compliance burdens for firms and intermediaries.
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The rules also introduce greater flexibility by allowing more experienced retail investors to be treated as professional clients, reflecting differing protection needs across investor groups.
Technical work will continue to finalise the legal texts in early 2026. Once published in the EU’s Official Journal, member states will have 24 months to transpose the new rules into national law.
