The European Accessibility Act (EAA) is reshaping how investment companies communicate with clients, stakeholders, and the broader public. More than a regulatory requirement, the EAA represents a shift toward inclusive digital engagement — one that opens doors to a broader investor base, strengthens brand integrity, and positions companies as leaders in responsible innovation.
Understanding the EAA and 2025 milestone
Enacted in 2019, the EAA is a landmark regulation designed to harmonise accessibility standards across EU member states. A key milestone is set for 2025, when compliance becomes mandatory for many digital services and products, making it a crucial reference point for planning and implementation. Its goal is to ensure that people with disabilities can access digital goods and services — such as websites, mobile apps, and documents — without barriers.
To comply, organisations must meet the technical criteria outlined in the European standard EN 301 549, which incorporates the globally recognised Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA criteria. These standards ensure that digital content is perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust for all users.
Why accessibility matters for investors
Globally, more than 2.2 billion people live with vision impairment, according to the World Health Organization. Most are over the age of 50 — a demographic that overlaps significantly with the investor population. As this group grows, so does the need for accessible financial communications.
For investment companies, accessibility is not just about compliance, it’s about connection. Making content accessible removes barriers for current and potential investors, enabling companies to reach a wider audience and foster deeper trust.
What you should be thinking about today
For asset managers and fund providers, the EAA has direct implications for how regulatory and financial disclosure documents are created, shared, and consumed. You should be asking:
- Are our investor-facing documents WCAG-compliant?
- Can our websites and portals be navigated by screen readers?
- Are we prepared to meet accessibility standards across multiple languages and jurisdictions?
The answers to these questions will determine not only compliance readiness but also how well-positioned your organisation is to serve an increasingly diverse investor base.
The organisational impact of EAA
The EAA mandates that all public-facing digital content — including regulatory and financial disclosure documents such as PRIIPs KIDs, prospectuses, financial reports, and fact sheets — must be accessible. This includes:
- Applying WCAG-compliant metadata tagging
- Resolving colour contrast issues and other visual accessibility violations
- Ensuring screen reader compatibility (e.g., JAWS, NVDA)
- Following PDF/UA standards for document structure and navigation
Non-compliance can result in country-specific penalties and reputational damage. But the benefits of compliance extend far beyond avoiding fines. Firms that prioritise accessibility position themselves as forward-thinking, inclusive, and aligned with the expectations of modern investors.
What about the UK?
The upcoming CCI regime references Consumer Duty, which has two outcomes that can be seen as accessibility requirements: consumer understanding (provide information in appropriate manner) and consumer support (help investors to retrieve the information needed). Further, the Consumer Duty is reference to FG22/5 and FG21/1, and discusses the inclusion and fair treatment of vulnerable customers. FG21/1 also refers to the application of the Equality Act, which aims to protect people with certain protected characteristics. Additionally, UK companies offering in-scope products or services in the EU will need to comply with its provisions.
How DFIN supports EAA compliance
DFIN offers a comprehensive, scalable solution for EAA compliance through its industry-leading tagging solution. The workflow includes:
- Ingestion: Imports your documents and content in multiple languages and formats.
- Analysis: Evaluates all documents and reviews content for WCAG compliance. We provide advice, guidance, and feedback on style and form and create a master set of guidelines.
- Tagging: Tags all documents and content with underlying metadata to the master set of guidelines.
- Verification: Performs a quality assurance process, including 16 independent structural and content integrity checks to ensure total compliance prior to delivery.
- Delivery: Returns fully tagged, compliant documents and content with a detailed accessibility report.
This process ensures speed to compliance — often within days — while maintaining the highest standards of quality and accuracy.
Why partner with DFIN?
DFIN has been delivering accessibility solutions since 2018, supporting compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in the U.S. and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) in Canada. With over 300,000 accessibility-tagged documents produced annually, DFIN has the scale, expertise, and infrastructure to meet the demands of EAA compliance.
As Rob Wilson, Senior Vice President of Global Investment Companies at DFIN, puts it:
“At DFIN, we’ve been leading in accessibility tagging since 2018 — long before EAA was on the radar for most firms. Our expertise across ADA in the U.S., AODA in Canada, and now EAA in Europe gives DFIN a global perspective and a proven process. This isn’t just about compliance — it’s about empowering every investor with equal access to critical financial information. That’s what true accessibility means, and that’s what we deliver every day.”
The bottom line
EAA compliance is more than a legal obligation — it can be a strategic advantage. By embracing accessibility, investment companies can expand their reach, enhance investor trust, and lead the way in inclusive digital transformation.