“There remain concerns about the lack of clarity between ETFs and ETPs," said Julie Patterson, IMA director of authorised funds and tax. "Some non-fund ETPs are still labelled, by themselves or by information venues, as ETFs. This is misleading to investors and should be prohibited.”

At the same time, the UK trade body has a fairly high level of confidence in the regulation of so-called index-trackers: “We are concerned that regulators should not fall into the trap of applying more and more layers of regulation to already well-regulated products," Patterson said.  "It is essential that a similar level of scrutiny is applied to all retail investment products – in particular, to other forms of exchange-traded products, which directly compete with ETFs."

In accordance with an IOSCO report called Consultation Report: Principles for the Regulation of Exchange Traded Funds, the IMA says that some issues are best left to national and regional regulators.

“European ETFs are UCITS and are subject to the same regulation as any other UCITS," Patterson said. "Moreover, the European Securities and Markets Authority is already working on enhanced disclosure requirements."