Education & information
Education
Covered by its statutory goals, BELSIPA strives to facilitate and contribute to any investor and salesforce education initiative by banks and/or sector associations whenever these relate to structured products.
In 2026, a comparative introduction to structured investment products will be offered as part of a new larger course on financial solutions, certifying attendees as "Qualified Investment Advisor". The course was designed by FEBELFIN Academy under collaboration with financial sector partner associations, led by BEAMA. It is supported by BELSIPA for the structured products module. More details on this new course can be found under the following links (French) and (Dutch). The starting dates are 20 April for the Dutch language course and 14 September for the French language course.As in every year, BELSIPA will also in 2026 offer a one-day course on the specificities of Structured Products in collaboration with FEBELFIN Academy, held also in both languages. Click the following links (Dutch) and (French). Note that dates will be set once there are sufficient pre-registrations with FEBELFIN Academy. For that reason, please use the before links for indicating your interest in joining the course.Information – Risk classification
Financial products can bring higher yields under certain conditions.
Higher yield necessarily comes with an increased risk level. BELSIPA promotes initiatives that aim at classifying financial products according to their riskiness. The main reference for risk in the European structured products world is today the SRI (Summary Risk Indicator) indication in each PRIIPs KID (Key Information Document). However, our industry has also developed the EUSIPA Products Map, which lists most common payoff types sold across the European Union, Switzerland and the UK according to their riskiness (link).
In Belgium, the specific distribution landscape available to retail investors is, unless an investor qualifies for an opt-out, restricted under the rules set out in the 2012 Moratorium, which adresses specific pay-off features under an assumed riskiness and complexity angle. An illustrative, read not enumerative list of sample products eligible under the Moratorium and also of those not eligible, can be found on the BELSIPA payoff website (link).
Over time and in line with the market and regulatory evolution, BELSIPA will add further payoffs to this page, thus building it step-by-step into a more complete overview of our product landscape.
Low Risk – High Risk
Information – Legal positioning
Through its Legal Committee, BELSIPA seeks to voice the opinion of its members towards legislative proposals and administrative practices relevant for the Belgian market.
We will invite regularly interested stakeholders to our sessions and publish any material sent to public institutions. Currently we follow the below initiatives and policy items:
- Royal Decree on information duties for the sale of financial products to retail customers (Belgium),
- Moratorium on the distribution of structured products to retail customers (Belgium) and its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section,
- EU Regulation on Packaged Retail Investment Products (EU) and the relevant Regulatory Technical Standards,
- EU Retail Investment Strategy (RIS) package of rules with a focus on the Value-For-Money (VFM) topic,
- Product-governance related activities of the FSMA and also the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA),
- Taxation of financial products, as, most recently (2026), the introduction of a Capital Gains Tax in Belgium.