Discussion paper on ESMA's policy orientations on guidelines for UCITS Exchange-Traded Funds and Structured UCITS

ESMA publishes today a discussion paper (ESMA/2011/220) setting out policy orientations on guidelines for UCITS Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and structured UCITS. The Authority has reviewed the current regulatory regime applicable to such funds and considers that the existing requirements are not sufficient to take account of the specific features and risks associated with these types of fund. In the discussion paper, ESMA examines the possible measures that could be introduced to mitigate the risk that particu-larly complex products, which may be difficult to understand and evaluate, are made available to retail investors. In this document, ESMA also raises the potential systemic risk caused by these types of fund and their impact on financial stability. ESMA will use the feedback received to this paper to develop draft guidelines for such funds.