FCA updates on SDR consultation

The UK’s financial watchdog has delayed the final policy statement regarding its consultation on sustainable investment labels to Q3 2023 instead of H1, due to a significant amount of responses.

We took an in-depth look at the measures proposed in the paper in October last year.

The deliberations closed on 25 January 2023 and final legislation was initially anticipated after June 2024 at the earliest. The FCA stated that deadlines will be adjusted following the delay of the policy statement.

The regulator received 240 responses and said “there is broad support for the proposed regime and outcomes we are seeking to achieve, and we have received rich, constructive feedback on some of the detail”.

Further, the FCA stated that while it takes the stakeholders’ feedback into consideration, protection of consumers remains a priority, but it will take into account the practical challenges firms may face. It specifically noted marketing restrictions and eligibility criteria for sustainability labels of products, asset classes and strategies.

It additionally announced clarifications to come with the policy statement, particularly pertaining to primary and secondary channels for achieving sustainability outcomes, and said that no requirement for independent verification of product categorisation will be established.