The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK regulator for financial services firms and markets, announced today that it is extending the deadline for asset managers to comply with new “naming and marketing rules” for sustainability-related investment products to April 2, 2025. The extension aims to provide more time for firms to meet the new standards set out under the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR). Introduced in November 2023, the SDR aims to enhance transparency for investors by allowing them to assess the sustainability attributes of investment products more effectively while minimizing greenwashing risks. The new rules include naming and marketing guidelines, which stipulate that terms like “sustainable,” “sustainability,” or “impact” can only be used in product names and marketing materials if the product meets specific criteria or carries a label that accurately reflects its characteristics. The SDR introduces four distinct labels to help investors differentiate between sustainability objectives and investment strategies. These labels are: **Sustainability Focus**, for products investing in assets that are environmentally and socially sustainable; **Sustainability Improvers**, for those targeting assets with the potential to improve their environmental or social sustainability over time; **Sustainability Impact**, for investments aimed at achieving a predefined, positive, and measurable environmental or social impact; and **Sustainability Mixed Goals**, a new category for funds that align with multiple sustainability objectives. To qualify for any of these labels, products must meet several criteria, including investing at least 70% of their assets in alignment with the label’s objectives and providing both pre-contractual and ongoing product-level disclosures. Originally scheduled to take effect in December 2024, the new rules will now be implemented in April 2025.
The FCA stated that the extension is necessary as many firms need additional time to meet the higher standards and complete the necessary disclosures for approval. The regulator emphasized its commitment to an “outcomes-based approach” to ensure that the SDR achieves its intended goal of protecting investors and maintaining transparency in sustainability claims. In particular, the delay applies to companies that use words like “sustainable,” “impact,” and “effect” in their product names. However, this extension does not apply to funds that use other sustainability-related methods. In addition, the SDR includes anti-green legislation that will come into effect from May 2024 and requires all FCA-authorized firms to ensure that information on the environmental or social aspects of products or services bank is “fair, clear, not misleading” . “. This rule will remain in place with the recently announced extension. The FCA expects firms to comply with the new naming and trading rules when they are ready, rather than waiting. to the end of April 2025.