What is appropriate and proportionate presentation of past performance data?
Past performance obligations should be interpreted in light of their purpose and in a way that is appropriate and proportionate (COBS 4.6.3G). Where a communication is non-promotional, a firm’s obligation will be less. So, for example, it may be appropriate for past performance data to form the most prominent feature of an annual statement or periodic statement provided in acordance with COBS 16.3.1R and COBS 16 Annex 2R. And, if a consumer asks over the phone how an individual share has performed in the course of the day’s trading, it would not be appropriate to also disclose the share’s performance over the last five years.
