Product disclosure enters the digital age

The rules for the delivery of disclosures by financial institutions have entered the digital age.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has issued guidance aimed at making it easier for financial institutions to communicate with their customers electronically.

The changes mean that product disclosure statements and other financial services disclosure documents will be delivered electronically as the default option. The consumer will be able to opt out and receive printed material.

The new rules (Regulatory Guide 221) say that a client providing an electronic address for the purpose of receiving disclosures will be deemed to have given consent to receive electronic communications.

ASIC said it was technologically neutral and would not mandate electronic delivery, leaving it up to businesses to decide what best suits their clients.

However, one of its aims is to encourage financial institutions to use the capabilities of the internet to create more engaging forms of disclosure, such as videos and interactive content.

The new guidance will cover such documents as product disclosure statements, financial services guides and statements of advice.

The new rules will also cover disclosures by related parties, such as scheme operators. If, for example, a financial planner was recommending a unit trust to a client, the unit trust manager could send a PDS to the client by email.

ASIC included some points of good practices, such as recommendations that electronic documents be delivered in a form that will allow clients to keep a copy, that providers should make an effort to ensure that the client actually received the disclosure and that clients should be protected from phishing or identity theft.