Article 30
Specific requirements concerning the distribution and marketing of ELTIFs to retail investors
1.
The units or shares of an ELTIF may only be marketed to a retail investor where an assessment of suitability has been carried out in accordance with Article 25(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU and a statement on suitability has been provided to that retail investor in accordance with Article 25(6), second and third subparagraphs, of that Directive.
The assessment of suitability referred to in the first subparagraph of this paragraph shall be carried out irrespective of whether the units or shares of the ELTIF are acquired by the retail investor from the distributor or the manager of the ELTIF, or via the secondary market in accordance with Article 19 of this Regulation.
The express consent of the retail investor indicating that the investor understands the risks of investing in an ELTIF shall be obtained where all of the following conditions are met:
(a)
the assessment of suitability is not provided in the context of investment advice;
(b)
the ELTIF is considered not suitable for the retail investor on the basis of the assessment of suitability carried out pursuant to the first subparagraph;
(c)
the retail investor wishes to proceed with the transaction despite the fact that the ELTIF is considered not suitable for that investor.
The distributor or, when directly offering or placing units or shares of an ELTIF to a retail investor, the manager of the ELTIF shall establish a record as referred to in Article 25(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU.
2.
The distributor or, when directly offering or placing units or shares of an ELTIF to a retail investor, the manager of the ELTIF shall issue a clear written alert informing the retail investor about the following:
(a)
where the life of an ELTIF that is offered or placed to retail investors exceeds 10 years, that the ELTIF product might not be fit for retail investors that are unable to sustain such a long-term and illiquid commitment;
(b)
where the rules or instruments of incorporation of an ELTIF provide for the possibility of the matching of units or shares of the ELTIF as referred to in Article 19(2a), that the availability of such a possibility does not guarantee or entitle the retail investor to exit or redeem its units or shares of the ELTIF concerned.
3.
Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply where the retail investor is a member of senior staff, or a portfolio manager, director, officer, or an agent or employee of the manager of the ELTIF, or of an affiliate of the manager of the ELTIF, and has sufficient knowledge about the ELTIF.
4.
A feeder ELTIF shall disclose in its marketing communications that it permanently invests 85 % or more of its assets in units or shares of the master ELTIF.
5.
The rules or instruments of incorporation of an ELTIF marketed to retail investors in the relevant class of units or shares shall provide that all investors benefit from equal treatment and that no preferential treatment or specific economic benefit is granted to individual investors or groups of investors within the relevant class or classes.
6.
The legal form of an ELTIF marketed to retail investors shall not lead to any further liability for the retail investor or require any additional commitments on behalf of such an investor, apart from the original capital commitment.
7.
Retail investors shall be able, during the subscription period and during a period of two weeks after the signature of the initial commitment or subscription agreement of the units or shares of the ELTIF, to cancel their subscription and have the money returned without penalty.
8.
The manager of an ELTIF marketed to retail investors shall establish appropriate procedures and arrangements to deal with retail investor complaints, which shall allow retail investors to file complaints in the official language or one of the official languages of their Member State.