Market Landscape Review: The Future of Fund Factsheet Automation

By Martin Jones, Head of Document Solutions, FundSense 

Martin Jones of FundSense examines how automation, regulation, and design freedom are reshaping the production of fund factsheets in 2026 and beyond. 

Balancing flexibility, compliance, and technology in the post-KIID world 

Over the past decade, investment fund documentation has evolved from simple marketing collateral to a highly regulated component of investor disclosure. The shift began with the introduction of the UCITS Key Investor Information Document (KIID) in 2011, followed by the PRIIPs Key Information Document (KID) under the Packaged Retail and Insurance-based Investment Products (PRIIPs) Regulation (adopted in 2014; KIDs effective from January 2018, with UCITS funds temporarily exempt until the end of 2022). More recently, the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) has added another layer of reporting obligations, with Level 1 rules applying from March 2021 and detailed technical standards under the SFDR Level 2 Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS) became mandatory on 1 January 2023.  

In that context, the evolving fund factsheet has found itself at the intersection of marketing, compliance, and data management. While KIIDs and KIDs are prescriptive regulatory templates, defined by page limits, mandatory sections, and sometimes prescribed wording, factsheets are not bound by a fixed regulatory template but are subject to strict marketing and disclosure rules under MiFID II, SFDR, and national regimes - especially when distributed pre-investment, offering far greater flexibility in presentation and tone. Yet that flexibility creates both opportunity and risk. As firms modernise their processes and data flows, automation is no longer simply about design efficiency - it’s about ensuring consistency, control, and regulatory alignment in a communications landscape that’s more dynamic than ever. 

Factsheets: Free-form, but not Unconstrained 

Unlike KIIDs and KIDs, which are pre-contractual disclosure documents governed directly by EU regulations, factsheets are considered marketing communications. This means there is no single prescribed template defining their layout, order of information, or page length. Asset managers are therefore free to include performance data, commentary, risk metrics, and ESG highlights in whatever format best suits their audience. 

However, that freedom doesn’t mean a factsheet can say whatever it likes. The content remains subject to core regulatory principles: information must be fair, clear, and not misleading; it must be consistent with the fund’s prospectus; and it must respect local marketing and advertising rules. In other words, while the design is flexible, the data and narrative must still stand up to regulatory scrutiny. 

This distinction is important for comparability. The UCITS and PRIIPs frameworks intentionally standardise investor information (two pages for UCITS KIIDs, three for PRIIPs KIDs) so investors can compare products side by side. Factsheets, by contrast, are not built for comparability but for communication and engagement. They allow managers to tell their investment story, highlight differentiators, and present branding. That freedom is also what makes automation both appealing and complex: each manager’s definition of a “factsheet” is slightly different. 

Why automation matters now 

Historically, factsheets were produced by hand; Excel tables, copy-and-paste processes, and last-minute formatting in InDesign. That model is untenable today. The number of funds, share classes, and language versions has exploded, and clients expect monthly or even weekly updates distributed instantly across web, PDF, and digital channels. 

Automation offers a path to scalability. However, automation also introduces risk: if data inputs or logic are wrong, the same error can cascade across thousands of documents. Robust validation and oversight remain essential. Modern systems can pull data directly from pricing, performance, and compliance sources, populate approved templates, and generate multilingual outputs within minutes. When properly implemented, they also create a compliance audit trail, showing where each figure came from and when it was signed off. 

For compliance teams, that’s critical. Regulators are increasingly focusing on marketing governance, and being able to demonstrate controlled data lineage (how a performance number moves from the administrator’s feed to the final published PDF) is now a key part of operational resilience. 

The four emerging archetypes of automation 

As the technology market matures, four broad categories of factsheet automation providers have emerged: 

1. Design-led platforms – Tools that grew out of traditional creative agencies or publishing software. They excel in branding and layout control, offering pixel-perfect templates, but often rely on manual data import or limited integration with source systems. Ideal for smaller firms prioritising design over scale. 

2. Data-driven automation vendors – Platforms built around API connectivity, data normalisation, and workflow control. They handle high-volume output, multiple languages, and complex distribution but may offer less flexibility in visual design. Favoured by larger managers seeking efficiency and compliance transparency. 

3. Cloud-native SaaS providers – Modern, API-first solutions offering scalability, frequent updates, and lower infrastructure costs. They appeal to firms looking for quick deployment, though data residency, version control, and integration depth must be scrutinised. 

4. Enterprise hybrids – Custom or integrated solutions that combine automation with bespoke reporting and content management. These often form part of broader digital transformation projects but require careful governance to avoid becoming overly complex. 

Each archetype has strengths. The challenge for asset managers is matching the right approach to their data maturity, compliance obligations, and brand objectives. In practice, that means balancing flexibility with control; locking down prescribed text or risk statements while allowing dynamic elements like commentary or graphics to update automatically. 

The compliance dimension 

Automation is not simply a cost-saving tool, it’s a compliance enabler. The more output channels and jurisdictions a firm serves, the greater the need for a controlled process. 

Key compliance features increasingly demanded by both regulators and internal risk teams include: 

• Data lineage – traceability of every figure to its original source. 

• Version control – ability to show historical iterations of each factsheet. 

• Locked content blocks – mandatory disclosures or benchmark text that cannot be edited manually. 

• Automated approval workflows – ensuring marketing, investment, and compliance sign-offs are captured. 

• Audit trail and retention – secure storage of every published version for inspection. 

These controls mirror the rigour of KIID/KID production but are applied in a more flexible environment. The best systems build these compliance checkpoints into their automation workflow without sacrificing visual quality or production speed. 

Beyond PDFs: the next generation of investor communication 

Automation is also redefining what a factsheet is. Increasingly, firms are moving toward digital or data-driven factsheets, which can update dynamically on a website or client portal as soon as new data is approved. This shift aligns with broader industry trends toward modular content and data re-use, as the same approved dataset can feed both a printed factsheet and an interactive online dashboard. 

The benefits extend beyond efficiency. Digital delivery enables personalisation, such as tailoring content by investor type or language, and supports accessibility features that static PDFs can’t match. From a compliance standpoint, it also reduces version-control risk by ensuring everyone sees the most up-to-date information. 

The challenge, however, is maintaining governance parity. Firms must ensure that digital factsheets are governed with the same rigor as PDFs, including version history, approval workflows, and retention, to avoid regulatory exposure. Automation vendors that can handle both static and dynamic formats within one controlled workflow are likely to define the next phase of this market. 

Strategic takeaways for fund managers 

1. Clarify regulatory boundaries. Factsheets are not KIIDs or KIDs, but they live alongside them. They may not be subject to page limits or prescribed text, yet they must still meet the same “fair, clear, and not misleading” test. Automation should therefore hard-code compliance elements where appropriate. 

2. Map your data first. The success of automation depends less on the software and more on the data model behind it. Identify your definitive sources for performance, risk, ESG metrics, and narrative content before automating. 

3. Design for flexibility and scale. Build templates that accommodate new fields, translations, or branding updates without developer intervention. Modular templates extend the lifespan of your automation investment. 

4. Prioritise auditability. Every figure on a factsheet should be traceable back to its origin. Regulators increasingly view marketing communications as part of the compliance perimeter, not outside it. 

5. Think beyond the PDF. Digital and API-based distribution is the next frontier. Automation should position you to deliver compliant, real-time fund data to clients and platforms, not just produce static documents. 

Conclusion: control through clarity 

In the post-KIID era, fund documentation has become both more standardised and more complex. The UCITS and PRIIPs frameworks deliver comparability; SFDR adds sustainability transparency; and factsheets remain the versatile bridge between regulated disclosure and investor engagement. 

The future of factsheet automation lies in harnessing that freedom, responsibly combining creative flexibility with the same data discipline and audit standards that govern formal disclosure documents. Firms that achieve this balance will not only cut production costs but also strengthen investor trust in the accuracy and integrity of their communications.

At FundSense, we help firms navigate this evolving landscape, combining technology, experience, and governance to build reporting ecosystems that are both compliant and future-ready. 

About the Author Martin Jones 

Head of Document Solutions, FundSense 

With more than 35 years’ experience across asset management firms and their suppliers, Martin has dedicated his career to improving efficiency in fund reporting and document automation. Since the introduction of UCITS KIIDs in 2011, he has helped firms streamline regulatory reporting through technology and data governance.