PRIIPS REGULATION / IMPACT ON EEA RETAIL INVESTORS FAQ
PRIIPS REGULATION / IMPACT ON EEA RETAIL INVESTORS FAQ

What is the PRIIPs Regulation?

Regulation (EU) No. 1286/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (commonly referred to as the PRIIPs Regulation) will come into effect on 1 January 2018.

The PRIIPs Regulation obliges DBS, when advising on or selling a packaged retail and insurance-based investment product (“PRIIP”) to a retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and/or the United Kingdom (“UK”) to provide such investor with a key information document (“KID”).

What is the definition of a retail investor?

A retail investor is defined as a client who does not meet the criteria to qualify as a professional client. Please refer to Question below for further details on the criteria to qualify as a professional client.

Please note that the professional client criteria is different from the “professional investor” criteria applicable in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively.

By default, DBS Vickers Securities treats all our EEA and/or UK resident beneficial owners (regardless of nationality) as retail investors.

DBS Vickers Securities is not an EEA financial institution. Why are you subject to the PRIIPs Regulation?
We have been advised that the PRIIPs Regulation applies to any person (whether in or outside of the EEA and/or the UK) making available any PRIIP to a retail investor resident in the EEA and/or the UK.
What is a PRIIP?

A PRIIP is primarily an investment product where the amount repayable to the investor is subject to fluctuations because of exposure to reference values or to the performance of one or more assets which are not directly purchased by the investor.

DBS Vickers Securities at this time will be treating the following as outside the scope of the PRIIPs Regulation:

  1. direct investments in equities
How does the PRIIPs Regulation impact me?

If the residential address of your account’s beneficial owner in our records is in the EEA and/or the UK (in each case regardless of nationality), the PRIIPs Regulation will impact DBS Vickers Securities’ ability to continue to offer to you structured notes, currency linked investments and other products falling within the scope of the PRIIPs Regulation.

As our product manufacturers are still evaluating the impact of the PRIIPs Regulation, KIDs will not be available for any of these products (regardless of issuer) on our product platform for the moment. As such, until further notice, these products will no longer be available to you from 1 January 2018 and, in the case of funds classified as an undertaking for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS), from 1 January 2023.

For investment funds and/or exchange-traded funds available online, please refrain from transacting in these products.

However, you may continue to transact the following through DBS Vickers Securities:

  1. direct investments in equities
Can I continue to hold investments which may be PRIIPs acquired before 1 January 2018 in my DBS Vickers Trading Account?

Yes, you may continue to hold PRIIPs acquired before 1 January 2018 in your DBS Vickers Trading Account.

Can I sell these investments through DBS Vickers Securities after 1 January 2018?

Yes, you may sell these investments through DBS Vickers Securities after 1 January 2018.

What are the EEA countries?

EEA countries include Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Republic of Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar*, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

The United Kingdom is no longer an EEA country as of 31 Jan 2020 but the UK has onshored the PRIIPs Regulation under its domestic regulations, so principles of PRIIPs Regulation continue to apply after Brexit (until further update).

*Gibraltar is not an EEA country but implement EEA/PRIIPS regulation due to some form of special status.

What is the professional client qualification criteria under MiFID II?

To qualify as a professional client (please note that this is different from the “professional investor” criteria applicable in Hong Kong and Singapore respectively):

  1. You must have relevant expertise, experience and knowledge in the relevant market; and
  2. You must meet at least 2 of the following criteria:
    • You have carried out transactions, in significant size, on the relevant market at an average frequency of 10 per quarter over the previous four quarters;
    • The size of your financial instrument portfolio, defined as including cash deposits and financial instruments, exceeds EUR 500,000; or
    • You work or have worked in the financial sector for at least one year in a professional position, which requires knowledge of the transactions or services envisaged.
How will I know whether an investment fund and/or an exchange-traded fund is a non-UCITs or UCITs fund?
Please refer to the fund prospectus which should detail this.