Regulation is no longer just knocking: the Retail Investment Strategy is about to break the door down.
For banks, networks, and insurance companies, this is no longer the usual dance of adjustments and adaptations, with complaints about too many rules and too much red tape. It is about choosing whether to lead the change—or be led by it.
After MiFID, a new set of requirements is on the way: the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS), which introduces further obligations aimed at strengthening investor protection and ensuring greater transparency in the advisor–client relationship.
Let’s start at the beginning. In May 2023, the European Commission adopted the Retail Investment Strategy (RIS): a package of measures on retail investor protection designed to amend the existing regulatory framework (MiFID, IDD, UCITS, AIFMD, Solvency II, and PRIIPs) in order to:
increase retail investor participation in EU capital markets, which remains significantly lower than in the U.S. (17% vs. 43%);
improve trust and transparency through clear and comparable tools, for example by promoting the principle of value for money;
ensure greater clarity for clients, with specific attention to transparent recommendations and communications.
In short, RIS is one of the EU’s flagship initiatives to make financial markets more accessible, transparent, and reliable for retail investors.
This is not an ordinary regulatory update—it’s a real game changer. And precisely for this reason, the debate among stakeholders has been—and continues to be—intense.
Many industry professionals view these new measures as yet another bureaucratic burden, fearing they will translate into heavier workloads and less time for clients.
The risk is indeed real—unless the right tools are in place: more data to collect, more checks to perform, more documents to update.
The main challenges for advisors are:
Data management: systematically collecting, verifying, and updating all relevant client information is an onerous task.
Transparency and personalization: proving that every recommendation meets the client’s actual needs, aligns with their stated objectives, and is not overpriced compared to the market.
Operational efficiency: traditional, often manual processes expose firms to the risk of errors, delays, and—in the worst cases—non-compliance.
Against this backdrop, Wealthype’s Plan_ai platform makes it possible to:
automate data collection and updates, reducing advisors’ operational burden;
demonstrate how a product or portfolio is in the client’s Best Interest, meaning fully aligned with their needs;
highlight Value for Money, taking into account the value of advisory services;
ensure traceability of recommendations, with processes that are easy to verify and document;
reduce the risk of non-compliance, effectively turning compliance from a hurdle into a strength.
All of this is enabled by an innovative methodological framework that leverages generative and analytical AI, designed to consider the overall service level when assessing Value for Money—exactly as required by RIS.
In short, Plan_ai goes beyond mere regulatory fulfillment: it doesn’t just “keep advisors in line,” it gives them a tangible competitive edge.
The information gathered becomes the foundation for more targeted, personalized, and transparent advice.
The platform enables advisors to “speak the same language” as clients, showing data and simulations in a simple, intuitive way.
Compliance becomes a springboard to strengthen trust and deliver solutions of real value.
Are you interested to try this product? Write to us at info@wealthype.it to discover how to integrate artificial intelligence into your financial advisory process.
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