Directive 2009/65/EC of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

SECTION 1 Publication of a prospectus and periodical reports

Article 68

1. An investment company and, for each of the common funds it manages, a management company, shall publish the following:

(a) a prospectus;

(b) an annual report for each financial year; and

(c) a half-yearly report covering the first six months of the financial year.

2. The annual and half-yearly reports shall be published within the following time limits, with effect from the end of the period to which they relate:

(a) four months in the case of the annual report; or

(b) two months in the case of the half-yearly report.

Article 69

1. The prospectus shall include the information necessary for investors to be able to make an informed judgement of the investment proposed to them, and, in particular, of the risks attached thereto.

The prospectus shall include, independent of the instruments invested in, a clear and easily understandable explanation of the fund’s risk profile.

2. The prospectus shall contain at least the information provided for in Schedule A of Annex I, in so far as that information does not already appear in the fund rules or instruments of incorporation annexed to the prospectus in accordance with Article 71(1).

3. The annual report shall include a balance-sheet or a statement of assets and liabilities, a detailed income and expenditure account for the financial year, a report on the activities of the financial year and the other information provided for in Schedule B of Annex I as well as any significant information which will enable investors to make an informed judgement on the development of the activities of the UCITS and its results.

4. The half-yearly report shall include at least the information provided for in Sections I to IV of Schedule B of Annex I. Where a UCITS has paid or proposes to pay an interim dividend, the figures must indicate the results after tax for the half-year concerned and the interim dividend paid or proposed.

Article 70

1. The prospectus shall indicate in which categories of assets a UCITS is authorised to invest. It shall mention if transactions in financial derivative instruments are authorised, in which case it shall include a prominent statement indicating whether those operations may be carried out for the purpose of hedging or with the aim of meeting investment goals, and the possible outcome of the use of financial derivative instruments on the risk profile.

2. Where a UCITS invests principally in any category of assets defined in Article 50 other than transferable securities or money market instruments, or where a UCITS replicates a stock or debt securities index in accordance with Article 53, its prospectus and, where necessary, marketing communications shall include a prominent statement drawing attention to the investment policy.

3. Where the net asset value of a UCITS is likely to have a high volatility due to its portfolio composition or the portfolio management techniques that may be used, its prospectus and, where necessary, marketing communications shall include a prominent statement drawing attention to that characteristic.

4. Upon request of an investor, the management company shall also provide supplementary information relating to the quantitative limits that apply in the risk management of the UCITS, to the methods chosen to this end and to the recent evolution of the main risks and yields of the instrument categories.

Article 71

1. The fund rules or instruments of incorporation of an investment company shall form an integral part of the prospectus and shall be annexed thereto.

2. The documents referred to in paragraph 1 are not, however, required to be annexed to the prospectus provided that the investor is informed that, on request, he or she will be sent those documents or be apprised of the place where, in each Member State in which the units are marketed, he or she may consult them.

Article 72

The essential elements of the prospectus shall be kept up to date.

Article 73

The accounting information given in the annual report shall be audited by one or more persons empowered by law to audit accounts in accordance with Directive 2006/43/EC. The auditor’s report, including any qualifications, shall be reproduced in full in the annual report.

Article 74

UCITS shall send their prospectus and any amendments thereto, as well as their annual and half-yearly reports, to the competent authorities of the UCITS home Member State. UCITS shall provide that documentation to the competent authorities of the management company’s home Member State on request.

Article 75

1. The prospectus and the latest published annual and half-yearly reports shall be provided to investors on request and free of charge.

2. The prospectus may be provided in a durable medium or by means of a website. A paper copy shall be delivered to the investors on request and free of charge.

3. The annual and half-yearly reports shall be available to investors in the manner specified in the prospectus and in the key investor information referred to in Article 78. A paper copy of the annual and half-yearly reports shall be delivered to the investors on request and free of charge.

4. The Commission may adopt implementing measures which define the specific conditions which need to be met when providing the prospectus in a durable medium other than paper or by means of a website which does not constitute a durable medium.

Those measures, designed to amend non-essential elements of this Directive, shall be adopted in accordance with the regulatory procedure with scrutiny referred to in Article 112(2).