On January 1, 2018, a European Union law regulating packaged retail insurance-based investment products ("PRIIPs") went into effect targeting securities offered to retail investors by investment funds. If a security is considered a PRIIP, the issuer is required to publish a strictly regulated key information document ("KID") that must be continuously updated during the distribution of the security. The liability for the content of the KID is assumed by the issuer by operation of law. The broadly drafted regulation has the potential to impact the ability of investors to purchase securities issued by U.S. exchange-listed real estate investment trusts ("REITs"). To determine whether the securities of a particular REIT should be considered PRIIPs and thereby subject to the regulation, all relevant operational facts and characteristics of the REIT must be reviewed in an analysis similar to the undertaking by REITs at the time the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive ("AIFMD") was implemented throughout the European Union. Securities are considered PRIIPs if the amount repayable to the retail investor is subject to: (i) fluctuation because of exposure to reference values or (ii) the performance of one or more assets that are not directly purchased by the retail investor. Securities issued by REITs that are structured as alternative investment funds under AIFMD are considered PRIIPs.
Originally published May 18, 2018
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