This document is an excerpt from the EUR-Lex website
Document 02017R0565-20210329
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 of 25 April 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
Consolidated text: Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 of 25 April 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 of 25 April 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance
02017R0565 — EN — 29.03.2021 — 003.001
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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2017/565 of 25 April 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive (OJ L 087 31.3.2017, p. 1) |
Amended by:
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date |
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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2017/2294 of 28 August 2017 |
L 329 |
4 |
13.12.2017 |
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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2019/1011 of 13 December 2018 |
L 165 |
1 |
21.6.2019 |
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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2021/527 of 15 December 2020 |
L 106 |
30 |
26.3.2021 |
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2017/565
of 25 April 2016
supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive
(Text with EEA relevance)
CHAPTER I
SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS
Article 1
Subject-matter and scope
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
‘relevant person’ in relation to an investment firm, means any of the following:
a director, partner or equivalent, manager or tied agent of the firm;
a director, partner or equivalent, or manager of any tied agent of the firm;
an employee of the firm or of a tied agent of the firm, as well as any other natural person whose services are placed at the disposal and under the control of the firm or a tied agent of the firm and who is involved in the provision by the firm of investment services and activities;
a natural person who is directly involved in the provision of services to the investment firm or to its tied agent under an outsourcing arrangement for the purpose of the provision by the firm of investment services and activities;
‘financial analyst’ means a relevant person who produces the substance of investment research;
‘outsourcing’ means an arrangement of any form between an investment firm and a service provider by which that service provider performs a process, a service or an activity which would otherwise be undertaken by the investment firm itself;
‘person with whom a relevant person has a family relationship’ means any of the following:
the spouse of the relevant person or any partner of that person considered by national law as equivalent to a spouse;
a dependent child or stepchild of the relevant person;
any other relative of the relevant person who has shared the same household as that person for at least one year on the date of the personal transaction concerned;
‘securities financing transaction’ means security financing transaction as defined in Article 3(11) of Regulation (EU) 2015/2365 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 2 ).
‘remuneration’ means all forms of payments or financial or non-financial benefits provided directly or indirectly by firms to relevant persons in the provision of investment or ancillary services to clients;
‘commodity’ means any goods of a fungible nature that are capable of being delivered, including metals and their ores and alloys, agricultural products, and energy such as electricity.
Article 3
Conditions applying to the provision of information
Where, for the purposes of this Regulation, information is required to be provided in a durable medium as defined in Article 4(1) point 62 of Directive 2014/65/EU investment firms shall have the right to provide that information in a durable medium other than on paper only if:
the provision of that information in that medium is appropriate to the context in which the business between the firm and the client is, or is to be, carried on; and
the person to whom the information is to be provided, when offered the choice between information on paper or in that other durable medium, specifically chooses the provision of the information in that other medium.
Where, pursuant to Article 46, 47, 48, 49, 50 or 66(3) of this Regulation, an investment firm provides information to a client by means of a website and that information is not addressed personally to the client, investment firms shall ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
the provision of that information in that medium is appropriate to the context in which the business between the firm and the client is, or is to be, carried on;
the client must specifically consent to the provision of that information in that form;
the client must be notified electronically of the address of the website, and the place on the website where the information may be accessed;
the information must be up to date;
the information must be accessible continuously by means of that website for such period of time as the client may reasonably need to inspect it.
Article 4
Provision of investment service in an incidental manner
(Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purpose of the exemption in point (c) of Article 2(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU, an investment service shall be deemed to be provided in an incidental manner in the course of a professional activity where the following conditions are satisfied:
a close and factual connection exists between the professional activity and the provision of the investment service to the same client, such that the investment service can be regarded as accessory to the main professional activity;
the provision of investment services to the clients of the main professional activity does not aim to provide a systematic source of income to the person providing the professional activity; and
the person providing the professional activity does not market or otherwise promote his ability to provide investment services, except where these are disclosed to clients as being accessory to the main professional activity.
Article 5
Wholesale energy products that must be physically settled
(Article 4(1)(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of Section C(6) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU, a wholesale energy product must be physically settled where all the following conditions are satisfied:
it contains provisions which ensure that parties to the contract have proportionate arrangements in place to be able to make or take delivery of the underlying commodity; a balancing agreement with the Transmission System Operator in the area of electricity and gas shall be considered a proportionate arrangement where the parties to the agreement have to ensure physical delivery of electricity or gas.
it establishes unconditional, unrestricted and enforceable obligations of the parties to the contract to deliver and take delivery of the underlying commodity;
it does not allow either party to replace physical delivery with cash settlement;
the obligations under the contract cannot be offset against obligations from other contracts between the parties concerned, without prejudice to the rights of the parties to the contract, to net their cash payment obligations.
For the purposes of point (d), operational netting in power and gas markets shall not be considered as offsetting of obligations under a contract against obligations from other contracts.
The delivery methods for the contracts being considered as ‘physically settled’ within the meaning of Section C(6) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU shall include at least:
physical delivery of the relevant commodities themselves;
delivery of a document giving rights of an ownership nature to the relevant commodities or the relevant quantity of the commodities concerned;
other methods of bringing about the transfer of rights of an ownership nature in relation to the relevant quantity of goods without physically delivering them, including notification, scheduling or nomination to the operator of an energy supply network, that entitles the recipient to the relevant quantity of the goods.
Article 6
Energy derivative contracts relating to oil and coal and wholesale energy products
(Article 4(1)(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 7
Other derivative financial instruments
(Article 4(1)(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of Section C(7) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU, a contract which is not a spot contract in accordance with paragraph 2 and which is not for commercial purposes as laid down in paragraph 4 shall be considered as having the characteristics of other derivative financial instruments where it satisfies the following conditions:
it meets one of the following criteria:
it is traded on a third country trading venue that performs a similar function to a regulated market, an MTF or an OTF;
it is expressly stated to be traded on, or is subject to the rules of, a regulated market, an MTF, an OTF or such a third country trading venue;
it is equivalent to a contract traded on a regulated market, MTF, an OTF or such a third country trading venue, with regards to the price, the lot, the delivery date and other contractual terms;
it is standardised so that the price, the lot, the delivery date and other terms are determined principally by reference to regularly published prices, standard lots or standard delivery dates.
A spot contract for the purposes of paragraph 1 shall be a contract for the sale of a commodity, asset or right, under the terms of which delivery is scheduled to be made within the longer of the following periods:
2 trading days;
the period generally accepted in the market for that commodity, asset or right as the standard delivery period.
A contract shall not be considered a spot contract where, irrespective of its explicit terms, there is an understanding between the parties to the contract that delivery of the underlying is to be postponed and not to be performed within the period referred to in paragraph 2.
For the purposes of Section C(10) of Annex I to Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 4 ), a derivative contract relating to an underlying referred to in that Section or in Article 8 of this Regulation shall be considered to have the characteristics of other derivative financial instruments where one of the following conditions is satisfied:
it is settled in cash or may be settled in cash at the option of one or more of the parties, otherwise than by reason of a default or other termination event;
it is traded on a regulated market, an MTF, an OTF, or a third country trading venue that performs a similar function to a regulated market, MTF or an OTF;
the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are satisfied in relation to that contract.
A contract shall be considered to be for commercial purposes for the purposes of Section C(7) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU, and as not having the characteristics of other derivative financial instruments for the purposes of Sections C(7) and (10) of that Annex, where the following conditions are both met:
it is entered into with or by an operator or administrator of an energy transmission grid, energy balancing mechanism or pipeline network,
it is necessary to keep in balance the supplies and uses of energy at a given time, including the case when the reserve capacity contracted by an electricity transmission system operator as defined in Article 2(4) of Directive 2009/72/EC is being transferred from one prequalified balancing service provider to another prequalified balancing service provider with the consent of the relevant transmission system operator.
Article 8
Derivatives under Section C(10) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU
(Article 4(1)(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
In addition to derivative contracts expressly referred to in Section C(10) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU, a derivative contract shall be subject to the provisions in that Section where it meets the criteria set out in that Section and in Article 7(3) of this Regulation and it relates to any of the following:
telecommunications bandwidth;
commodity storage capacity;
transmission or transportation capacity relating to commodities, whether cable, pipeline or other means with the exception of transmission rights related to electricity transmission cross zonal capacities when they are, on the primary market, entered into with or by a transmission system operator or any persons acting as service providers on their behalf and in order to allocate the transmission capacity;
an allowance, credit, permit, right or similar asset which is directly linked to the supply, distribution or consumption of energy derived from renewable resources, except where the contract is already within the scope of Section C of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU;
a geological, environmental or other physical variable, except if the contract is relating to any units recognised for compliance with the requirements of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 5 );
any other asset or right of a fungible nature, other than a right to receive a service, that is capable of being transferred;
an index or measure related to the price or value of, or volume of transactions in any asset, right, service or obligation;
an index or measure based on actuarial statistics.
Article 9
Investment advice
(Article 4(1)(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of the definition of ‘investment advice’ in Article 4(1)(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU, a personal recommendation shall be considered a recommendation that is made to a person in his capacity as an investor or potential investor, or in his capacity as an agent for an investor or potential investor.
That recommendation shall be presented as suitable for that person, or shall be based on a consideration of the circumstances of that person, and shall constitute a recommendation to take one of the following sets of steps:
to buy, sell, subscribe for, exchange, redeem, hold or underwrite a particular financial instrument;
to exercise or not to exercise any right conferred by a particular financial instrument to buy, sell, subscribe for, exchange, or redeem a financial instrument.
A recommendation shall not be considered a personal recommendation if it is issued exclusively to the public.
Article 10
Characteristics of other derivative contracts relating to currencies
For the purposes of Section C(4) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU, other derivative contracts relating to a currency shall not be a financial instrument where the contract is one of the following:
a spot contract within the meaning of paragraph 2 of this Article,
a means of payment that:
must be settled physically otherwise than by reason of a default or other termination event;
is entered into by at least a person which is not a financial counterparty within the meaning of Article 2(8) of Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 6 );
is entered into in order to facilitate payment for identifiable goods, services or direct investment; and
is not traded on a trading venue.
A spot contract for the purposes of paragraph 1 shall be a contract for the exchange of one currency against another currency, under the terms of which delivery is scheduled to be made within the longer of the following periods:
2 trading days in respect of any pair of the major currencies set out in paragraph 3;
for any pair of currencies where at least one currency is not a major currency, the longer of 2 trading days or the period generally accepted in the market for that currency pair as the standard delivery period;
where the contract for the exchange of those currencies is used for the main purpose of the sale or purchase of a transferable security or a unit in a collective investment undertaking, the period generally accepted in the market for the settlement of that transferable security or a unit in a collective investment undertaking as the standard delivery period or 5 trading days, whichever is shorter.
A contract shall not be considered a spot contract where, irrespective of its explicit terms, there is an understanding between the parties to the contract that delivery of the currency is to be postponed and not to be performed within the period set out in the first subparagraph.
For the purposes of paragraph 2, a trading day shall mean any day of normal trading in the jurisdiction of both the currencies that are exchanged pursuant to the contract for the exchange of those currencies and in the jurisdiction of a third currency where any of the following conditions are met:
the exchange of those currencies involves converting them through that third currency for the purposes of liquidity;
the standard delivery period for the exchange of those currencies references the jurisdiction of that third currency.
Article 11
Money-market instruments
(Article 4(1)(17) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Money-market instruments in accordance with Article 4(1)(17) of Directive 2014/65/EU, shall include treasury bills, certificates of deposits, commercial papers and other instruments with substantively equivalent features where they have the following characteristics:
they have a value that can be determined at any time;
they are not derivatives;
they have a maturity at issuance of 397 days or less.
Article 12
Systematic internalisers for shares, depositary receipts, ETFs, certificates and other similar financial instruments
(Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall be considered to be a systematic internaliser in accordance with Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU in respect of each share, depositary receipt, exchange traded fund (ETF), certificate and other similar financial instrument where it internalises according to the following criteria:
on a frequent and systematic basis in the financial instrument for which there is a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months:
the number of OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is equal to or larger than 0,4 % of the total number of transactions in the relevant financial instrument executed in the Union on any trading venue or OTC during the same period;
the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders in the relevant financial instrument take place on average on a daily basis;
on a frequent and systematic basis in the financial instrument for which there is not a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders takes place on average on a daily basis;
on a substantial basis in the financial instrument where the size of OTC trading carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is, during the past 6 months, equal to or larger than either:
15 % of the total turnover in that financial instrument executed by the investment firm on own account or on behalf of clients and executed on a trading venue or OTC;
0,4 % of the total turnover in that financial instrument executed in the Union on a trading venue or OTC.
Article 13
Systematic internalisers for bonds
(Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall be considered to be a systematic internaliser in accordance with Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU in respect of all bonds belonging to a class of bonds issued by the same entity or by any entity within the same group where, in relation to any such bond, it internalises according to the following criteria:
on a frequent and systematic basis in a bond for which there is a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months:
the number of OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is equal to or larger than 2,5 % of the total number of transactions in the relevant bond executed in the Union on any trading venue or OTC during the same period;
the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders in the relevant financial instrument take place on average once a week;
on a frequent and systematic basis in a bond for which there is not a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders take place on average once a week;
on a substantial basis in a bond where the size of OTC trading carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is, during the past 6 months, equal to or larger than any of the following:
25 % of the total turnover in that bond executed by the investment firm on own account or on behalf of clients and executed on a trading venue or OTC;
1 % of the total turnover in that bond executed in the Union on a trading venue or OTC.
Article 14
Systematic internalisers for structured finance products
(Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall be considered to be a systematic internaliser in accordance with Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU in respect of all structured finance products belonging to a class of structured finance products issued by the same entity or by any entity within the same group where, in relation to any such structured finance product, it internalises according to the following criteria:
on a frequent and systematic basis in a structured finance product for which there is a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months:
the number of OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is equal to or larger than 4 % of the total number of transactions in the relevant structured finance product executed in the Union on any trading venue or OTC during the same period;
the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders in the relevant financial instrument take place on average once a week;
on a frequent and systematic basis in a structured finance product for which there is not a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders take place on average once a week;
on a substantial basis in a structured finance product where the size of OTC trading carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is, during the past 6 months, equal to or larger than any of the following:
30 % of the total turnover in that structured finance product executed by the investment firm on own account or on behalf of clients and executed on a trading venue or OTC;
2,25 % of the total turnover in that structured finance product executed in the Union on a trading venue or OTC.
Article 15
Systematic internalisers for derivatives
(Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall be considered to be a systematic internaliser in accordance with Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU in respect of all derivatives belonging to a class of derivatives where, in relation to any such derivative, it internalises according to the following criteria:
on a frequent and systematic basis in a derivative for which there is a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months:
the number of OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is equal to or larger than 2,5 % of the total number of transactions in the relevant class of derivatives executed in the Union on any trading venue or OTC during the same period;
the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders in this class of derivatives take place on average once a week;
on a frequent and systematic basis in a derivative for which there is not a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account in the relevant class of derivative when executing client orders takes place on average once a week;
on a substantial basis in a derivative where the size of OTC trading carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is, during the past 6 months, equal to or larger than any of the following:
25 % of the total turnover in that class of derivatives executed by the investment firm on own account or on behalf of clients and executed on a trading venue or OTC; or
1 % of the total turnover in that class of derivatives executed in the Union on a trading venue or OTC.
Article 16
Systematic internalisers for emission allowances
(Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall be considered to be a systematic internaliser in accordance with Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU in respect of emission allowances where, in relation to any such instrument, it internalises according to the following criteria:
on a frequent and systematic basis in an emission allowance for which there is a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months:
the number of OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is equal to or larger than 4 % of the total number of transactions in the relevant type of emission allowances executed in the Union on any trading venue or OTC during the same period;
the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account when executing client orders in this type of emission allowances take place on average once a week;
on a frequent and systematic basis in an emission allowance for which there is not a liquid market as defined in Article 2(1)(17)(a) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 where during the past 6 months the OTC transactions carried out by it on own account in the relevant type of emission allowances when executing client orders takes place on average once a week;
on a substantial basis in an emission allowance where the size of OTC trading carried out by it on own account when executing client orders is, during the past 6 months, equal to or larger than any of the following:
30 % of the total turnover in that type of emission allowances executed by the investment firm on own account or on behalf of clients and executed on a trading venue or OTC;
2,25 % of the total turnover in that type of emission allowance executed in the Union on a trading venue or OTC.
Article 16a
Participation in matching arrangements
An investment firm shall not be considered to be dealing on own account for the purposes of Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU where that investment firm participates in matching arrangements entered into with entities outside its own group with the objective or consequence of carrying out de facto riskless back-to-back transactions in a financial instrument outside a trading venue.
Article 17
Relevant assessment periods
(Article 4(1)(20) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The conditions set out in Articles 12 to 16 shall be assessed on a quarterly basis on the basis of data from the past 6 months. The assessment period shall start on the first working day of the months of January, April, July and October.
Newly issued instruments shall only be considered in the assessment when historical data covers a period of at least three months in the case of shares, depositary receipts, ETFs, certificates and other similar financial instruments, and six weeks in the case of bonds, structured finance products and derivatives.
Article 18
Algorithmic trading
(Article 4(1)(39) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of further specifying the definition of algorithmic trading in accordance with Article 4(1)(39) of Directive 2014/65/EU, a system shall be considered as having no or limited human intervention where, for any order or quote generation process or any process to optimise order-execution, an automated system makes decisions at any of the stages of initiating, generating, routing or executing orders or quotes according to pre-determined parameters.
Article 19
High frequency algorithmic trading technique
(Article 4(1)(40) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
A high message intraday rate in accordance with Article 4(1)(40) of Directive 2014/65/EU shall consist of the submission on average of any of the following:
at least 2 messages per second with respect to any single financial instrument traded on a trading venue;
at least 4 messages per second with respect to all financial instruments traded on a trading venue.
Article 20
Direct electronic access
(Article 4(1)(41) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
CHAPTER II
ORGANISATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
SECTION 1
Organisation
Article 21
General organisational requirements
(Article 16(2) to (10) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall comply with the following organisational requirements:
establish, implement and maintain decision-making procedures and an organisational structure which clearly and in documented manner specifies reporting lines and allocates functions and responsibilities;
ensure that their relevant persons are aware of the procedures which must be followed for the proper discharge of their responsibilities;
establish, implement and maintain adequate internal control mechanisms designed to secure compliance with decisions and procedures at all levels of the investment firm;
employ personnel with the skills, knowledge and expertise necessary for the discharge of the responsibilities allocated to them;
establish, implement and maintain effective internal reporting and communication of information at all relevant levels of the investment firm;
maintain adequate and orderly records of their business and internal organisation;
ensure that the performance of multiple functions by their relevant persons does not and is not likely to prevent those persons from discharging any particular function soundly, honestly, and professionally.
When complying with the requirements set out in the this paragraph, investment firms shall take into account the nature, scale and complexity of the business of the firm, and the nature and range of investment services and activities undertaken in the course of that business.
Article 22
Compliance
(Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall take into account the nature, scale and complexity of the business of the firm, and the nature and range of investment services and activities undertaken in the course of that business.
Investment firms shall establish and maintain a permanent and effective compliance function which operates independently and which has the following responsibilities:
to monitor on a permanent basis and to assess, on a regular basis, the adequacy and effectiveness of the measures, policies and procedures put in place in accordance with the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, and the actions taken to address any deficiencies in the firm's compliance with its obligations;
to advise and assist the relevant persons responsible for carrying out investment services and activities to comply with the firm's obligations under Directive 2014/65/EU;
to report to the management body, on at least an annual basis, on the implementation and effectiveness of the overall control environment for investment services and activities, on the risks that have been identified and on the complaints-handling reporting as well as remedies undertaken or to be undertaken;
to monitor the operations of the complaints-handling process and consider complaints as a source of relevant information in the context of its general monitoring responsibilities.
In order to comply with points (a) and (b) of this paragraph, the compliance function shall conduct an assessment on the basis of which it shall establish a risk-based monitoring programme that takes into consideration all areas of the investment firm's investment services, activities and any relevant ancillary services, including relevant information gathered in relation to the monitoring of complaints handling. The monitoring programme shall establish priorities determined by the compliance risk assessment ensuring that compliance risk is comprehensively monitored.
In order to enable the compliance function referred to in paragraph 2 to discharge its responsibilities properly and independently, investment firms shall ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
the compliance function has the necessary authority, resources, expertise and access to all relevant information;
a compliance officer is appointed and replaced by the management body and is responsible for the compliance function and for any reporting as to compliance required by Directive 2014/65/EU and Article 25(2) of this Regulation;
the compliance function reports on an ad-hoc basis directly to the management body where it detects a significant risk of failure by the firm to comply with its obligations under Directive 2014/65/EU;
the relevant persons involved in the compliance function are not involved in the performance of services or activities they monitor;
the method of determining the remuneration of the relevant persons involved in the compliance function does not compromise their objectivity and is not likely to do so.
Article 23
Risk management
(Article 16(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall take the following actions relating to risk management:
establish, implement and maintain adequate risk management policies and procedures which identify the risks relating to the firm's activities, processes and systems, and where appropriate, set the level of risk tolerated by the firm;
adopt effective arrangements, processes and mechanisms to manage the risks relating to the firm's activities, processes and systems, in light of that level of risk tolerance;
monitor the following:
the adequacy and effectiveness of the investment firm's risk management policies and procedures;
the level of compliance by the investment firm and its relevant persons with the arrangements, processes and mechanisms adopted in accordance with point (b);
the adequacy and effectiveness of measures taken to address any deficiencies in those policies, procedures, arrangements, processes and mechanisms, including failures by the relevant persons to comply with such arrangements, processes and mechanisms or follow such policies and procedures.
Investment firms shall, where appropriate and proportionate in view of the nature, scale and complexity of their business and the nature and range of the investment services and activities undertaken in the course of that business, establish and maintain a risk management function that operates independently and carries out the following tasks:
implementation of the policy and procedures referred to in paragraph 1;
provision of reports and advice to senior management in accordance with Article 25(2).
Where an investment firm does not establish and maintain a risk management function under the first sub-paragraph, it shall be able to demonstrate upon request that the policies and procedures which it is has adopted in accordance with paragraph 1 satisfy the requirements therein.
Article 24
Internal audit
(Article 16(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall, where appropriate and proportionate in view of the nature, scale and complexity of their business and the nature and range of investment services and activities undertaken in the course of that business, establish and maintain an internal audit function which is separate and independent from the other functions and activities of the investment firm and which has the following responsibilities:
establish, implement and maintain an audit plan to examine and evaluate the adequacy and effectiveness of the investment firm's systems, internal control mechanisms and arrangements;
issue recommendations based on the result of work carried out in accordance with point (a) and verify compliance with those recommendations;
report in relation to internal audit matters in accordance with Article 25(2).
Article 25
Responsibility of senior management
(Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The allocation of significant functions among senior managers shall clearly establish who is responsible for overseeing and maintaining the firm's organisational requirements. Records of the allocation of significant functions shall be kept up-to-date.
Article 26
Complaints handling
(Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The complaints management policy shall provide clear, accurate and up-to-date information about the complaints-handling process. This policy shall be endorsed by the firm's management body.
Article 27
Remuneration policies and practices
(Articles 16, 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Remuneration policies and practices shall be designed in such a way so as not to create a conflict of interest or incentive that may lead relevant persons to favour their own interests or the firm's interests to the potential detriment of any client.
A balance between fixed and variable components of remuneration shall be maintained at all times, so that the remuneration structure does not favour the interests of the investment firm or its relevant persons against the interests of any client.
Article 28
Scope of personal transactions
(Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of Article 29 and Article 37, a personal transaction shall be a trade in a financial instrument effected by or on behalf of a relevant person, where at least one of the following criteria are met:
the relevant person is acting outside the scope of the activities he carries out in his professional capacity;
the trade is carried out for the account of any of the following persons:
the relevant person;
any person with whom he has a family relationship, or with whom he has close links;
a person in respect of whom the relevant person has a direct or indirect material interest in the outcome of the trade, other than obtaining a fee or commission for the execution of the trade.
Article 29
Personal transactions
(Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall ensure that relevant persons do not enter into a personal transaction which meets at least one of the following criteria:
that person is prohibited from entering into it under Regulation (EU) No 596/2014;
it involves the misuse or improper disclosure of that confidential information;
it conflicts or is likely to conflict with an obligation of the investment firm under Directive 2014/65/EU.
Without prejudice to Article 10(1) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, investment firms shall ensure that relevant persons do not disclose, other than in the normal course of his employment or contract for services, any information or opinion to any other person where the relevant person knows, or reasonably ought to know, that as a result of that disclosure that other person will or would be likely to take either of the following steps:
to enter into a transaction in financial instruments which, if it were a personal transaction of the relevant person, would be covered by paragraphs 2 or 3 or Article 37(2)(a) or (b) or Article 67(3);
to advise or procure another person to enter into such a transaction.
The arrangements required under paragraph 1 shall be designed to ensure that:
each relevant person covered by paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 is aware of the restrictions on personal transactions, and of the measures established by the investment firm in connection with personal transactions and disclosure, in accordance with paragraphs 1, 2,3 and 4.
the firm is informed promptly of any personal transaction entered into by a relevant person, either by notification of that transaction or by other procedures enabling the firm to identify such transactions;
a record is kept of the personal transaction notified to the firm or identified by it, including any authorisation or prohibition in connection with such a transaction.
In the case of outsourcing arrangements, the investment firm shall ensure that the firm to which the activity is outsourced maintains a record of personal transactions entered into by any relevant person and provides that information to the investment firm promptly on request.
Paragraphs 1 to 5 shall not apply to the following personal transactions:
personal transactions effected under a discretionary portfolio management service where there is no prior communication in connection with the transaction between the portfolio manager and the relevant person or other person for whose account the transaction is executed;
personal transactions in undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities (UCITS) or AIFs that are subject to supervision under the law of a Member State which requires an equivalent level of risk spreading in their assets, where the relevant person and any other person for whose account the transactions are effected are not involved in the management of that undertaking.
SECTION 2
Outsourcing
Article 30
Scope of critical and important operational functions
(Article 16(2) and first subparagraph of Article 16(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Without prejudice to the status of any other function, the following functions shall not be considered as critical or important for the purposes of paragraph 1:
the provision to the firm of advisory services, and other services which do not form part of the investment business of the firm, including the provision of legal advice to the firm, the training of personnel of the firm, billing services and the security of the firm's premises and personnel;
the purchase of standardised services, including market information services and the provision of price feeds.
Article 31
Outsourcing critical or important operational functions
(Article 16(2) and of Article 16(5) first subparagraph of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms outsourcing critical or important operational functions shall remain fully responsible for discharging all of their obligations under Directive 2014/65/EU and shall comply with the following conditions:
the outsourcing does not result in the delegation by senior management of its responsibility;
the relationship and obligations of the investment firm towards its clients under the terms of Directive 2014/65/EU is not altered;
the conditions with which the investment firm must comply in order to be authorised in accordance with Article 5 of Directive 2014/65/EU, and to remain so, are not undermined;
none of the other conditions subject to which the firm's authorisation was granted is removed or modified.
Investment firms shall exercise due skill, care and diligence when entering into, managing or terminating any arrangement for the outsourcing to a service provider of critical or important operational functions and shall take the necessary steps to ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
the service provider has the ability, capacity, sufficient resources, appropriate organisational structure supporting the performance of the outsourced functions, and any authorisation required by law to perform the outsourced functions, reliably and professionally;
the service provider carries out the outsourced services effectively and in compliance with applicable law and regulatory requirements, and to this end the firm has established methods and procedures for assessing the standard of performance of the service provider and for reviewing on an ongoing basis the services provided by the service provider;
the service provider properly supervises the carrying out of the outsourced functions, and adequately manage the risks associated with the outsourcing;
appropriate action is taken where it appears that the service provider may not be carrying out the functions effectively or in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements;
the investment firm effectively supervises the outsourced functions or services and manage the risks associated with the outsourcing and to this end the firm retains the necessary expertise and resources to supervise the outsourced functions effectively and manage those risks;
the service provider has disclosed to the investment firm any development that may have a material impact on its ability to carry out the outsourced functions effectively and in compliance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements;
the investment firm is able to terminate the arrangement for outsourcing where necessary, with immediate effect when this is in the interests of its clients, without detriment to the continuity and quality of its provision of services to clients;
the service provider cooperates with the competent authorities of the investment firm in connection with the outsourced functions;
the investment firm, its auditors and the relevant competent authorities have effective access to data related to the outsourced functions, as well as to the relevant business premises of the service provider, where necessary for the purpose of effective oversight in accordance with this article, and the competent authorities are able to exercise those rights of access;
the service provider protects any confidential information relating to the investment firm and its clients;
the investment firm and the service provider have established, implemented and maintained a contingency plan for disaster recovery and periodic testing of backup facilities, where that is necessary having regard to the function, service or activity that has been outsourced;
the investment firm has ensured that the continuity and quality of the outsourced functions or services are maintained also in the event of termination of the outsourcing either by transferring the outsourced functions or services to another third party or by performing them itself.
Article 32
Service providers located in third countries
(Article 16(2) and first subparagraph of Article 16(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
In addition to the requirements set out in Article 31, where an investment firm outsources functions related to the investment service of portfolio management provided to clients to a service provider located in a third country, that investment firm ensures that the following conditions are satisfied:
the service provider is authorised or registered in its home country to provide that service and is effectively supervised by a competent authority in that third country;
there is an appropriate cooperation agreement between the competent authority of the investment firm and the supervisory authority of the service provider.
The cooperation agreement referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall ensure that the competent authorities of the investment firm are able, at least, to:
obtain on request the information necessary to carry out their supervisory tasks pursuant to Directive 2014/65/EU and Regulation (EU) No 600/2014;
obtain access to the documents relevant for the performance of their supervisory duties maintained in the third country;
receive information from the supervisory authority in the third country as soon as possible for the purpose of investigating apparent breaches of the requirements of Directive 2014/65/EU and its implementing measures and Regulation (EU) No 600/2014;
cooperate with regard to enforcement, in accordance with the national and international law applicable to the supervisory authority of the third country and the competent authorities in the Union in cases of breach of the requirements of Directive 2014/65/EU and its implementing measures and relevant national law.
Competent authorities shall update cooperation agreements concluded before the date of entry into application of this Regulation within six months from that date.
SECTION 3
Conflicts of interest
Article 33
Conflicts of interest potentially detrimental to a client
(Articles 16(3) and 23 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of identifying the types of conflict of interest that arise in the course of providing investment and ancillary services or a combination thereof and whose existence may damage the interests of a client, investment firms shall take into account, by way of minimum criteria, whether the investment firm or a relevant person, or a person directly or indirectly linked by control to the firm, is in any of the following situations, whether as a result of providing investment or ancillary services or investment activities or otherwise:
the firm or that person is likely to make a financial gain, or avoid a financial loss, at the expense of the client;
the firm or that person has an interest in the outcome of a service provided to the client or of a transaction carried out on behalf of the client, which is distinct from the client's interest in that outcome;
the firm or that person has a financial or other incentive to favour the interest of another client or group of clients over the interests of the client;
the firm or that person carries on the same business as the client;
the firm or that person receives or will receive from a person other than the client an inducement in relation to a service provided to the client, in the form of monetary or non-monetary benefits or services.
Article 34
Conflicts of interest policy
(Articles 16(3) and 23 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Where the firm is a member of a group, the policy shall also take into account any circumstances, of which the firm is or should be aware, which may give rise to a conflict of interest arising as a result of the structure and business activities of other members of the group.
The conflicts of interest policy established in accordance with paragraph 1 shall include the following content:
it must identify, with reference to the specific investment services and activities and ancillary services carried out by or on behalf of the investment firm, the circumstances which constitute or may give rise to a conflict of interest entailing a risk of damage to the interests of one or more clients;
it must specify procedures to be followed and measures to be adopted in order to prevent or manage such conflicts.
For the purposes of paragraph 2(b), the procedures to be followed and measures to be adopted shall include at least those items in the following list that are necessary for the firm to ensure the requisite degree of independence:
effective procedures to prevent or control the exchange of information between relevant persons engaged in activities involving a risk of a conflict of interest where the exchange of that information may harm the interests of one or more clients;
the separate supervision of relevant persons whose principal functions involve carrying out activities on behalf of, or providing services to, clients whose interests may conflict, or who otherwise represent different interests that may conflict, including those of the firm;
the removal of any direct link between the remuneration of relevant persons principally engaged in one activity and the remuneration of, or revenues generated by, different relevant persons principally engaged in another activity, where a conflict of interest may arise in relation to those activities;
measures to prevent or limit any person from exercising inappropriate influence over the way in which a relevant person carries out investment or ancillary services or activities;
measures to prevent or control the simultaneous or sequential involvement of a relevant person in separate investment or ancillary services or activities where such involvement may impair the proper management of conflicts of interest.
The disclosure shall clearly state that the organisational and administrative arrangements established by the investment firm to prevent or manage that conflict are not sufficient to ensure, with reasonable confidence, that the risks of damage to the interests of the client will be prevented. The disclosure shall include specific description of the conflicts of interest that arise in the provision of investment and/or ancillary services, taking into account the nature of the client to whom the disclosure is being made. The description shall explain the general nature and sources of conflicts of interest, as well as the risks to the client that arise as a result of the conflicts of interest and the steps undertaken to mitigate these risks, in sufficient detail to enable that client to take an informed decision with respect to the investment or ancillary service in the context of which the conflicts of interest arise.
Article 35
Record of services or activities giving rise to detrimental conflict of interest
(Article 16(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall keep and regularly update a record of the kinds of investment or ancillary service or investment activity carried out by or on behalf of the firm in which a conflict of interest entailing a risk of damage to the interests of one or more clients has arisen or, in the case of an ongoing service or activity, may arise.
Senior management shall receive on a frequent basis, and at least annually, written reports on situations referred to in this Article.
Article 36
Investment research and marketing communications
(Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purposes of Article 37 investment research shall be research or other information recommending or suggesting an investment strategy, explicitly or implicitly, concerning one or several financial instruments or the issuers of financial instruments, including any opinion as to the present or future value or price of such instruments, intended for distribution channels or for the public, and in relation to which the following conditions are met:
the research or information is labelled or described as investment research or in similar terms, or is otherwise presented as an objective or independent explanation of the matters contained in the recommendation;
if the recommendation in question were made by an investment firm to a client, it would not constitute the provision of investment advice for the purposes of Directive 2014/65/EU.
Additionally, firms shall ensure that any such recommendation contains a clear and prominent statement that (or, in the case of an oral recommendation, to the effect that) it has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research, and that it is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of the dissemination of investment research.
Article 37
Additional organisational requirements in relation to investment research or marketing communications
(Article 16(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The obligations in the first subparagraph shall also apply in relation to recommendations referred to in Article 36(2).
Investment firms referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 shall have in place arrangements designed to ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
financial analysts and other relevant persons do not undertake personal transactions or trade, other than as market makers acting in good faith and in the ordinary course of market making or in the execution of an unsolicited client order, on behalf of any other person, including the investment firm, in financial instruments to which investment research relates, or in any related financial instruments, with knowledge of the likely timing or content of that investment research which is not publicly available or available to clients and cannot readily be inferred from information that is so available, until the recipients of the investment research have had a reasonable opportunity to act on it;
in circumstances not covered by point (a), financial analysts and any other relevant persons involved in the production of investment research do not undertake personal transactions in financial instruments to which the investment research relates, or in any related financial instruments, contrary to current recommendations, except in exceptional circumstances and with the prior approval of a member of the firm's legal or compliance function;
a physical separation exists between the financial analysts involved in the production of investment research and other relevant persons whose responsibilities or business interests may conflict with the interests of the persons to whom the investment research is disseminated or, when considered not appropriate to the size and organisation of the firm as well as the nature, scale and complexity of its business, the establishment and implementation of appropriate alternative information barriers;
the investment firms themselves, financial analysts, and other relevant persons involved in the production of the investment research do not accept inducements from those with a material interest in the subject-matter of the investment research;
the investment firms themselves, financial analysts, and other relevant persons involved in the production of the investment research do not promise issuers favourable research coverage;
before the dissemination of investment research issuers, relevant persons other than financial analysts, and any other persons are not permitted to review a draft of the investment research for the purpose of verifying the accuracy of factual statements made in that research, or for any purpose other than verifying compliance with the firm's legal obligations, where the draft includes a recommendation or a target price.
For the purposes of this paragraph, ‘related financial instrument’ shall be any financial instrument the price of which is closely affected by price movements in another financial instrument which is the subject of investment research, and includes a derivative on that other financial instrument.
Investment firms which disseminate investment research produced by another person to the public or to clients shall be exempt from complying with paragraph 1 if the following criteria are met:
the person that produces the investment research is not a member of the group to which the investment firm belongs;
the investment firm does not substantially alter the recommendations within the investment research;
the investment firm does not present the investment research as having been produced by it;
the investment firm verifies that the producer of the research is subject to requirements equivalent to the requirements under this Regulation in relation to the production of that research, or has established a policy setting such requirements.
Article 38
Additional general requirements in relation to underwriting or placing
(Articles 16(3), 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms which provide advice on corporate finance strategy, as set out in Section B(3) of Annex I, and provide the service of underwriting or placing of financial instruments, shall, before accepting a mandate to manage the offering, have arrangements in place to inform the issuer client of the following:
the various financing alternatives available with the firm, and an indication of the amount of transaction fees associated with each alternative;
the timing and the process with regard to the corporate finance advice on pricing of the offer;
the timing and the process with regard to the corporate finance advice on placing of the offering;
details of the targeted investors, to whom the firm intends to offer the financial instruments;
the job titles and departments of the relevant individuals involved in the provision of corporate finance advice on the price and allotment of financial instruments; and
firm's arrangements to prevent or manage conflicts of interest that may arise where the firm places the relevant financial instruments with its investment clients or with its own proprietary book.
Article 39
Additional requirements in relation to pricing of offerings in relation to issuance of financial instruments
(Articles 16(3), 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall have in place systems, controls and procedures to identify and prevent or manage conflicts of interest that arise in relation to possible under-pricing or over-pricing of an issue or involvement of relevant parties in the process. In particular, investment firms shall as a minimum requirement establish, implement and maintain internal arrangements to ensure both of the following:
that the pricing of the offer does not promote the interests of other clients or firm's own interests, in a way that may conflict with the issuer client's interests; and
the prevention or management of a situation where persons responsible for providing services to the firm's investment clients are directly involved in decisions about corporate finance advice on pricing to the issuer client.
Article 40
Additional requirements in relation to placing
(Articles 16(3), 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall not accept any third-party payments or benefits unless such payments or benefits comply with the inducements requirements laid down in Article 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU. In particular, the following practices shall be considered not compliant with those requirements and shall therefore be considered not acceptable:
an allocation made to incentivise the payment of disproportionately high fees for unrelated services provided by the investment firm (‘laddering’), such as disproportionately high fees or commissions paid by an investment client, or disproportionately high volumes of business at normal levels of commission provided by the investment client as a compensation for receiving an allocation of the issue;
an allocation made to a senior executive or a corporate officer of an existing or potential issuer client, in consideration for the future or past award of corporate finance business (‘spinning’);
an allocation that is expressly or implicitly conditional on the receipt of future orders or the purchase of any other service from the investment firm by an investment client, or any entity of which the investor is a corporate officer.
Article 41
Additional requirements in relation to advice, distribution and self-placement
(Articles 16(3), 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 42
Additional requirements in relation to lending or provision of credit in the context of underwriting or placement
(Articles 16(3), 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 43
Record keeping in relation to underwriting or placing
(Articles 16(3), 23 and 24 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall keep records of the content and timing of instructions received from clients. A record of the allocation decisions taken for each operation shall be kept to provide for a complete audit trail between the movements registered in clients' accounts and the instructions received by the investment firm. In particular, the final allocation made to each investment client shall be clearly justified and recorded. The complete audit trail of the material steps in the underwriting and placing process shall be made available to competent authorities upon request.
CHAPTER III
OPERATING CONDITIONS FOR INVESTMENT FIRMS
SECTION 1
Information to clients and potential clients
Article 44
Fair, clear and not misleading information requirements
(Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firm shall ensure that the information referred to in paragraph 1 complies with the following conditions:
the information includes the name of the investment firm,
the information is accurate and always gives a fair and prominent indication of any relevant risks when referencing any potential benefits of an investment service or financial instrument,
the information uses a font size in the indication of relevant risks that is at least equal to the predominant font size used throughout the information provided, as well as a layout ensuring such indication is prominent,
the information is sufficient for, and presented in a way that is likely to be understood by, the average member of the group to whom it is directed, or by whom it is likely to be received,
the information does not disguise, diminish or obscure important items, statements or warnings,
the information is consistently presented in the same language throughout all forms of information and marketing materials that are provided to each client, unless the client has accepted to receive information in more than one language,
the information is up-to-date and relevant to the means of communication used.
Where the information compares investment or ancillary services, financial instruments, or persons providing investment or ancillary services, investment firms shall ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
the comparison is meaningful and presented in a fair and balanced way;
the sources of the information used for the comparison are specified;
the key facts and assumptions used to make the comparison are included.
Where the information contains an indication of past performance of a financial instrument, a financial index or an investment service, investment firms shall ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
that indication is not the most prominent feature of the communication;
the information must include appropriate performance information which covers the preceding 5 years, or the whole period for which the financial instrument has been offered, the financial index has been established, or the investment service has been provided where less than five years, or such longer period as the firm may decide, and in every case that performance information is based on complete 12-month periods;
the reference period and the source of information is clearly stated;
the information contains a prominent warning that the figures refer to the past and that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results;
where the indication relies on figures denominated in a currency other than that of the Member State in which the retail client or potential retail client is resident, the currency is clearly stated, together with a warning that the return may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations;
where the indication is based on gross performance, the effect of commissions, fees or other charges are disclosed.
Where the information includes or refers to simulated past performance, investment firms shall ensure that the information relates to a financial instrument or a financial index, and the following conditions are satisfied:
the simulated past performance is based on the actual past performance of one or more financial instruments or financial indices which are the same as, or substantially the same as, or underlie, the financial instrument concerned;
in respect of the actual past performance referred to in point (a), the conditions set out in points (a) to (c), (e) and (f) of paragraph 4 are satisfied;
the information contains a prominent warning that the figures refer to simulated past performance and that past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Where the information contains information on future performance, investment firms shall ensure that the following conditions are satisfied:
the information is not based on or refer to simulated past performance;
the information is based on reasonable assumptions supported by objective data;
where the information is based on gross performance, the effect of commissions, fees or other charges is disclosed;
the information is based on performance scenarios in different market conditions (both negative and positive scenarios), and reflects the nature and risks of the specific types of instruments included in the analysis;
the information contains a prominent warning that such forecasts are not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Article 45
Information concerning client categorisation
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms may, either on their own initiative or at the request of the client concerned treat a client in the following manner:
as a professional or retail client where that client might otherwise be classified as an eligible counterparty pursuant to Article 30(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU;
a retail client where that client that is considered a professional client pursuant to Section I of Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU.
Article 46
General requirements for information to clients
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall, in good time before a client or potential client is bound by any agreement for the provision of investment services or ancillary services or before the provision of those services, whichever is the earlier to provide that client or potential client with the following information:
the terms of any such agreement;
the information required by Article 47 relating to that agreement or to those investment or ancillary services.
Marketing communications containing an offer or invitation of the following nature and specifying the manner of response or including a form by which any response may be made, shall include such of the information referred to in Articles 47 to 50 as is relevant to that offer or invitation:
an offer to enter into an agreement in relation to a financial instrument or investment service or ancillary service with any person who responds to the communication;
an invitation to any person who responds to the communication to make an offer to enter into an agreement in relation to a financial instrument or investment service or ancillary service.
However, the first subparagraph shall not apply if, in order to respond to an offer or invitation contained in the marketing communication, the potential client must refer to another document or documents, which, alone or in combination, contain that information.
Article 47
Information about the investment firm and its services for clients and potential clients
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall provide clients or potential clients with the following general information, where relevant:
the name and address of the investment firm, and the contact details necessary to enable clients to communicate effectively with the firm;
the languages in which the client may communicate with the investment firm, and receive documents and other information from the firm;
the methods of communication to be used between the investment firm and the client including, where relevant, those for the sending and reception of orders;
a statement of the fact that the investment firm is authorised and the name and contact address of the competent authority that has authorised it;
where the investment firm is acting through a tied agent, a statement of this fact specifying the Member State in which that agent is registered;
the nature, frequency and timing of the reports on the performance of the service to be provided by the investment firm to the client in accordance with Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU;
where the investment firm holds client financial instruments or client funds, a summary description of the steps which it takes to ensure their protection, including summary details of any relevant investor compensation or deposit guarantee scheme which applies to the firm by virtue of its activities in a Member State;
a description, which may be provided in summary form, of the conflicts of interest policy maintained by the firm in accordance with Article 34;
at the request of the client, further details of that conflicts of interest policy in a durable medium or by means of a website (where that does not constitute a durable medium) provided that the conditions set out Article 3(2) are satisfied.
The information listed in points (a) to (i) shall be provided in good time before the provision of investment services or ancillary services to clients or potential clients.
Where investment firms propose to provide portfolio management services to a client or potential client, they shall provide the client, in addition to the information required under paragraph 1, with such of the following information as is applicable:
information on the method and frequency of valuation of the financial instruments in the client portfolio;
details of any delegation of the discretionary management of all or part of the financial instruments or funds in the client portfolio;
a specification of any benchmark against which the performance of the client portfolio will be compared;
the types of financial instrument that may be included in the client portfolio and types of transaction that may be carried out in such instruments, including any limits;
the management objectives, the level of risk to be reflected in the manager's exercise of discretion, and any specific constraints on that discretion.
The information listed in points (a) to (e) shall be provided in good time before the provision of investment services or ancillary services to clients or potential clients.
Article 48
Information about financial instruments
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The description of risks referred to in paragraph 1 shall include, where relevant to the specific type of instrument concerned and the status and level of knowledge of the client, the following elements:
the risks associated with that type of financial instrument including an explanation of leverage and its effects and the risk of losing the entire investment including the risks associated with insolvency of the issuer or related events, such as bail in;
the volatility of the price of such instruments and any limitations on the available market for such instruments;
information on impediments or restrictions for disinvestment, for example as may be the case for illiquid financial instruments or financial instruments with a fixed investment term, including an illustration of the possible exit methods and consequences of any exit, possible constraints and the estimated time frame for the sale of the financial instrument before recovering the initial costs of the transaction in that type of financial instruments;
the fact that an investor might assume, as a result of transactions in such instruments, financial commitments and other additional obligations, including contingent liabilities, additional to the cost of acquiring the instruments;
any margin requirements or similar obligations, applicable to instruments of that type.
Article 49
Information concerning safeguarding of client financial instruments or client funds
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 50
Information on costs and associated charges
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Without prejudice to the obligations set out in Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU, investment firms providing investment services to professional clients shall have the right to agree to a limited application of the detailed requirements set out in this Article with these clients. Investment firms shall not be allowed to agree such limitations when the services of investment advice or portfolio management are provided or when, irrespective of the investment service provided, the financial instruments concerned embed a derivative.
Without prejudice to the obligations set out in Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU, investment firms providing investment services to eligible counterparties shall have the right to agree to a limited application of the detailed requirements set out in this Article, except when, irrespective of the investment service provided, the financial instruments concerned embed a derivative and the eligible counterparty intends to offer them to its clients.
For ex-ante and ex-post disclosure of information on costs and charges to clients, investment firms shall aggregate the following:
all costs and associated charges charged by the investment firm or other parties where the client has been directed to such other parties, for the investment services(s) and/or ancillary services provided to the client; and
all costs and associated charges associated with the manufacturing and managing of the financial instruments.
Costs referred to in points (a) and (b) are listed in Annex II to this Regulation. For the purposes of point (a), third party payments received by investment firms in connection with the investment service provided to a client shall be itemised separately and the aggregated costs and charges shall be totalled and expressed both as a cash amount and as a percentage.
The obligation to provide in good time a full ex-ante disclosure of information about the aggregated costs and charges related to the financial instrument and to the investment or ancillary service provided shall apply to investment firms in the following situations:
where the investment firm recommends or markets financial instruments to clients; or
where the investment firm providing any investment services is required to provide clients with a UCITS KIID or PRIIPs KID in relation to the relevant financial instruments, in accordance with relevant Union legislation.
Investment firms may choose to provide such aggregated information on costs and charges of the investment services and the financial instruments together with any existing periodic reporting to clients.
Investment firms shall provide their clients with an illustration showing the cumulative effect of costs on return when providing investment services. Such an illustration shall be provided both on an ex-ante and ex-post basis. Investment firms shall ensure that the illustration meets the following requirements:
the illustration shows the effect of the overall costs and charges on the return of the investment;
the illustration shows any anticipated spikes or fluctuations in the costs; and
the illustration is accompanied by a description of the illustration.
Article 51
Information provided in accordance with Directive 2009/65/EU and Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms distributing units in collective investment undertakings or PRIIPs shall additionally inform their clients about any other costs and associated charges related to the product which may have not been included in the UCITS KID or PRIIPs KID and about the costs and charges relating to their provision of investment services in relation to that financial instrument.
SECTION 2
Investment advice
Article 52
Information about investment advice
(Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Where advice is offered or provided to the same client on both an independent and non-independent basis, investment firms shall explain the scope of both services to allow investors to understand the differences between them and not present itself f as an independent investment adviser for the overall activity. Firms shall not give undue prominence to their independent investment advice services over non-independent investment services in their communications with clients.
Investments firms providing a periodic assessment of the suitability of the recommendations provided pursuant to Article 54(12) shall disclose all of the following:
the frequency and extent of the periodic suitability assessment and where relevant, the conditions that trigger that assessment;
the extent to which the information previously collected will be subject to reassessment; and
the way in which an updated recommendation will be communicated to the client.
Article 53
Investment advice on an independent basis
(Article 24(4) and 24(7) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms providing investment advice on an independent basis shall define and implement a selection process to assess and compare a sufficient range of financial instruments available on the market in accordance with Article 24(7)(a) of Directive 2014/65/EU. The selection process shall include the following elements:
the number and variety of financial instruments considered is proportionate to the scope of investment advice services offered by the independent investment adviser;
the number and variety of financial instruments considered is adequately representative of financial instruments available on the market;
the quantity of financial instruments issued by the investment firm itself or by entities closely linked to the investment firm itself is proportionate to the total amount of financial instruments considered; and
the criteria for selecting the various financial instruments shall include all relevant aspects such as risks, costs and complexity as well as the characteristics of the investment firm's clients, and shall ensure that the selection of the instruments that may be recommended is not biased.
Where such a comparison is not possible due to the business model or the specific scope of the service provided, the investment firm providing investment advice shall not present itself as independent.
An investment firm that provides investment advice on an independent basis and that focuses on certain categories or a specified range of financial instruments shall comply with the following requirements:
the firm shall market itself in a way that is intended only to attract clients with a preference for those categories or range of financial instruments;
the firm shall require clients to indicate that they are only interested in investing in the specified category or range of financial instruments; and
prior to the provision of the service, the firm shall ensure that its service is appropriate for each new client on the basis that its business model matches the client's needs and objectives, and the range of financial instruments that are suitable for the client. Where this is not the case the firm shall not provide such a service to the client.
An investment firm offering investment advice on both an independent basis and on a non-independent basis shall comply with the following obligations:
in good time before the provision of its services, the investment firm has informed its clients, in a durable medium, whether the advice will be independent or non-independent in accordance with Article 24(4)(a) of Directive 2014/65/EU and the relevant implementing measures;
the investment firm has presented itself as independent for the services for which it provides investment advice on an independent basis;
the investment firms has adequate organisational requirements and controls in place to ensure that both types of advice services and advisers are clearly separated from each other and that clients are not likely to be confused about the type of advice that they are receiving and are given the type of advice that is appropriate for them. The investment firm shall not allow a natural person to provide both independent and non-independent advice.
SECTION 3
Assessment of suitability and appropriateness
Article 54
Assessment of suitability and suitability reports
(Article 25(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Where investment advice or portfolio management services are provided in whole or in part through an automated or semi-automated system, the responsibility to undertake the suitability assessment shall lie with the investment firm providing the service and shall not be reduced by the use of an electronic system in making the personal recommendation or decision to trade.
Investment firms shall determine the extent of the information to be collected from clients in light of all the features of the investment advice or portfolio management services to be provided to those clients. Investment firms shall obtain from clients or potential clients such information as is necessary for the firm to understand the essential facts about the client and to have a reasonable basis for determining, giving due consideration to the nature and extent of the service provided, that the specific transaction to be recommended, or entered into in the course of providing a portfolio management service, satisfies the following criteria:
it meets the investment objectives of the client in question, including client's risk tolerance;
it is such that the client is able financially to bear any related investment risks consistent with his investment objectives;
it is such that the client has the necessary experience and knowledge in order to understand the risks involved in the transaction or in the management of his portfolio.
Where that investment service consists in the provision of investment advice to a professional client covered by Section 1 of Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU, the investment firm shall be entitled to assume for the purposes of point (b) of paragraph 2 that the client is able financially to bear any related investment risks consistent with the investment objectives of that client.
Where a natural person is represented by another natural person or where a legal person having requested treatment as professional client in accordance with Section 2 of Annex II to Directive 2014/65/EU is to be considered for the suitability assessment, the financial situation and investment objectives shall be those of the legal person or, in relation to the natural person, the underlying client rather than of the representative. The knowledge and experience shall be that of the representative of the natural person or the person authorised to carry out transactions on behalf of the underlying client.
Investment firms shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the information collected about their clients or potential clients is reliable. This shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:
ensuring clients are aware of the importance of providing accurate and up-to-date information;
ensuring all tools, such as risk assessment profiling tools or tools to assess a client's knowledge and experience, employed in the suitability assessment process are fit-for-purpose and are appropriately designed for use with their clients, with any limitations identified and actively mitigated through the suitability assessment process;
ensuring questions used in the process are likely to be understood by clients, capture an accurate reflection of the client's objectives and needs, and the information necessary to undertake the suitability assessment; and
taking steps, as appropriate, to ensure the consistency of client information, such as by considering whether there are obvious inaccuracies in the information provided by clients.
Investment firms having an on-going relationship with the client, such as by providing an ongoing advice or portfolio management service, shall have, and be able to demonstrate, appropriate policies and procedures to maintain adequate and up-to-date information about clients to the extent necessary to fulfil the requirements under paragraph 2.
Investment firms shall draw clients' attention to and shall include in the suitability report information on whether the recommended services or instruments are likely to require the retail client to seek a periodic review of their arrangements.
Where an investment firm provides a service that involves periodic suitability assessments and reports, the subsequent reports after the initial service is established may only cover changes in the services or instruments involved and/or the circumstances of the client and may not need to repeat all the details of the first report.
Article 55
Provisions common to the assessment of suitability or appropriateness
(Article 25(2) and 25(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall ensure that the information regarding a client's or potential client's knowledge and experience in the investment field includes the following, to the extent appropriate to the nature of the client, the nature and extent of the service to be provided and the type of product or transaction envisaged, including their complexity and the risks involved:
the types of service, transaction and financial instrument with which the client is familiar;
the nature, volume, and frequency of the client's transactions in financial instruments and the period over which they have been carried out;
the level of education, and profession or relevant former profession of the client or potential client.
Article 56
Assessment of appropriateness and related record-keeping obligations
(Article 25(3) and 25(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall be entitled to assume that a professional client has the necessary experience and knowledge in order to understand the risks involved in relation to those particular investment services or transactions, or types of transaction or product, for which the client is classified as a professional client.
Investment firms shall maintain records of the appropriateness assessments undertaken which shall include the following:
the result of the appropriateness assessment;
any warning given to the client where the investment service or product purchase was assessed as potentially inappropriate for the client, whether the client asked to proceed with the transaction despite the warning and, where applicable, whether the firm accepted the client's request to proceed with the transaction;
any warning given to the client where the client did not provide sufficient information to enable the firm to undertake an appropriateness assessment, whether the client asked to proceed with the transaction despite this warning and, where applicable, whether the firm accepted the client's request to proceed with the transaction.
Article 57
Provision of services in non-complex instruments
(Article 25(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
A financial instrument which is not explicitly specified in Article 25(4)(a) of Directive 2014/65/EU shall be considered as non-complex for the purposes of Article 25(4)(a)(vi) of Directive 2014/65/EU if it satisfies the following criteria:
it does not fall within Article 4(1)(44)(c) of, or points (4) to (11) of Section C of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU;
there are frequent opportunities to dispose of, redeem, or otherwise realise that instrument at prices that are publicly available to market participants and that are either market prices or prices made available, or validated, by valuation systems independent of the issuer;
it does not involve any actual or potential liability for the client that exceeds the cost of acquiring the instrument;
it does not incorporate a clause, condition or trigger that could fundamentally alter the nature or risk of the investment or pay out profile, such as investments that incorporate a right to convert the instrument into a different investment;
it does not include any explicit or implicit exit charges that have the effect of making the investment illiquid even though there are technically frequent opportunities to dispose of, redeem or otherwise realise it;
adequately comprehensive information on its characteristics is publicly available and is likely to be readily understood so as to enable the average retail client to make an informed judgment as to whether to enter into a transaction in that instrument.
Article 58
Retail and Professional Client agreements
(Article 24(1) and 25(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms providing any investment service or the ancillary service referred to in Section B(1) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU to a client after the date of application of this Regulation shall enter into a written basic agreement with the client, in paper or another durable medium, with the client setting out the essential rights and obligations of the firm and the client. Investment firms providing investment advice shall comply with this obligation only where a periodic assessment of the suitability of the financial instruments or services recommended is performed.
The written agreement shall set out the essential rights and obligations of the parties, and shall include the following:
a description of the services, and where relevant the nature and extent of the investment advice, to be provided;
in case of portfolio management services, the types of financial instruments that may be purchased and sold and the types of transactions that may be undertaken on behalf of the client, as well as any instruments or transactions prohibited; and
a description of the main features of any services referred to in Section B(1) of Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU to be provided, including where applicable the role of the firm with respect to corporate actions relating to client instruments and the terms on which securities financing transactions involving client securities will generate a return for the client.
SECTION 4
Reporting to clients
Article 59
Reporting obligations in respect of execution of orders other than for portfolio management
(Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms having carried out an order on behalf of a client, other than for portfolio management, shall, in respect of that order:
promptly provide the client, in a durable medium, with the essential information concerning the execution of that order;
send a notice to the client in a durable medium confirming execution of the order as soon as possible and no later than the first business day following execution or, where the confirmation is received by the investment firm from a third party, no later than the first business day following receipt of the confirmation from the third party.
Point (b) shall not apply where the confirmation would contain the same information as a confirmation that is to be promptly dispatched to the client by another person.
Points (a) and (b) shall not apply where orders executed on behalf of clients relate to bonds funding mortgage loan agreements with the said clients, in which case the report on the transaction shall be made at the same time as the terms of the mortgage loan are communicated, but no later than one month after the execution of the order.
The notice referred to in point (b) of paragraph 1 shall include such of the following information as is applicable and, where relevant, in accordance with the regulatory technical standards on reporting obligations adopted in accordance with Article 26 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014:
the reporting firm identification;
the name or other designation of the client;
the trading day;
the trading time;
the type of the order;
the venue identification;
the instrument identification;
the buy/sell indicator;
the nature of the order if other than buy/sell;
the quantity;
the unit price;
the total consideration;
a total sum of the commissions and expenses charged and, where the client so requests, an itemised breakdown including, where relevant, the amount of any mark-up or mark-down imposed where the transaction was executed by an investment firm when dealing on own account, and the investment firm owes a duty of best execution to the client;
the rate of exchange obtained where the transaction involves a conversion of currency;
the client's responsibilities in relation to the settlement of the transaction, including the time limit for payment or delivery as well as the appropriate account details where these details and responsibilities have not previously been notified to the client;
where the client's counterparty was the investment firm itself or any person in the investment firm's group or another client of the investment firm, the fact that this was the case unless the order was executed through a trading system that facilitates anonymous trading.
For the purposes of point (k), where the order is executed in tranches, the investment firm may supply the client with information about the price of each tranche or the average price. Where the average price is provided, the investment firm shall supply the client with information about the price of each tranche upon request.
Article 60
Reporting obligations in respect of portfolio management
(Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The periodic statement required under paragraph 1 shall provide a fair and balanced review of the activities undertaken and of the performance of the portfolio during the reporting period and shall include, where relevant, the following information:
the name of the investment firm;
the name or other designation of the client's account;
a statement of the contents and the valuation of the portfolio, including details of each financial instrument held, its market value, or fair value if market value is unavailable and the cash balance at the beginning and at the end of the reporting period, and the performance of the portfolio during the reporting period;
the total amount of fees and charges incurred during the reporting period, itemising at least total management fees and total costs associated with execution, and including, where relevant, a statement that a more detailed breakdown will be provided on request;
a comparison of performance during the period covered by the statement with the investment performance benchmark (if any) agreed between the investment firm and the client;
the total amount of dividends, interest and other payments received during the reporting period in relation to the client's portfolio;
information about other corporate actions giving rights in relation to financial instruments held in the portfolio;
for each transaction executed during the period, the information referred to in Article 59(4)(c) to (l) where relevant, unless the client elects to receive information about executed transactions on a transaction-by-transaction basis, in which case paragraph 4 of this Article shall apply.
The periodic statement referred to in paragraph 1 shall be provided once every three months, except in the following cases:
where the investment firm provides its clients with access to an online system, which qualifies as a durable medium, where up-to-date valuations of the client's portfolio can be accessed and where the client can easily access the information required by Article 63(2) and the firm has evidence that the client has accessed a valuation of their portfolio at least once during the relevant quarter;
in cases where paragraph 4 applies, the periodic statement must be provided at least once every 12 months;
where the agreement between an investment firm and a client for a portfolio management service authorises a leveraged portfolio, the periodic statement must be provided at least once a month.
The exception provided for in point (b) shall not apply in the case of transactions in financial instruments covered by Article 4(1)(44)(c) of, or any of points 4 to 11 of Section C in Annex I to Directive 2014/65/EU.
The investment firm shall send the client a notice confirming the transaction and containing the information referred to in Article 59(4) no later than the first business day following that execution or, where the confirmation is received by the investment firm from a third party, no later than the first business day following receipt of the confirmation from the third party.
The second subparagraph shall not apply where the confirmation would contain the same information as a confirmation that is to be promptly dispatched to the client by another person.
Article 61
Reporting obligations in respect of eligible counterparties
(Article 24(4) and Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The requirements applicable to reports for retail and professional clients under Articles 49 and 59 shall apply unless investment firms enter into agreements with eligible counterparties to determine content and timing of reporting.
Article 62
Additional reporting obligations for portfolio management or contingent liability transactions
(Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 63
Statements of client financial instruments or client funds
(Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The first subparagraph shall not apply to a credit institution authorised under Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 12 ) in respect of deposits within the meaning of that Directive held by that institution.
The statement of client assets referred to in paragraph 1 shall include the following information:
details of all the financial instruments or funds held by the investment firm for the client at the end of the period covered by the statement;
the extent to which any client financial instruments or client funds have been the subject of securities financing transactions;
the extent of any benefit that has accrued to the client by virtue of participation in any securities financing transactions, and the basis on which that benefit has accrued;
a clear indication of the assets or funds which are subject to the rules of Directive 2014/65/EU and its implementing measures and those that are not, such as those that are subject to Title Transfer Collateral Agreement;
a clear indication of which assets are affected by some peculiarities in their ownership status, for instance due to a security interest;
the market or estimated value, when the market value is not available, of the financial instruments included in the statement with a clear indication of the fact that the absence of a market price is likely to be indicative of a lack of liquidity. The evaluation of the estimated value shall be performed by the firm on a best effort basis.
In cases where the portfolio of a client includes the proceeds of one or more unsettled transactions, the information referred to in point (a) may be based either on the trade date or the settlement date, provided that the same basis is applied consistently to all such information in the statement.
The periodic statement of client assets referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be provided where the investment firm provides its clients with access to an online system, which qualifies as a durable medium, where up-to-date statements of client's financial instruments or funds can be easily accessed by the client and the firm has evidence that the client has accessed this statement at least once during the relevant quarter.
SECTION 5
Best execution
Article 64
Best execution criteria
(Articles 27(1) and 24(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
When executing client orders, investment firms shall take into account the following criteria for determining the relative importance of the factors referred to in Article 27(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU:
the characteristics of the client including the categorisation of the client as retail or professional;
the characteristics of the client order, including where the order involves a securities financing transaction (SFT);
the characteristics of financial instruments that are the subject of that order;
the characteristics of the execution venues to which that order can be directed.
For the purposes of this Article and Articles 65 and 66, ‘execution venue’ includes a regulated market, an MTF, an OTF, a systematic internaliser, or a market maker or other liquidity provider or an entity that performs a similar function in a third country to the functions performed by any of the foregoing.
Article 65
Duty of investment firms carrying out portfolio management and reception and transmission of orders to act in the best interests of the client
(Article 24(1) and 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm satisfies its obligations under paragraph 1 or 2, and is not required to take the steps mentioned in this paragraph, to the extent that it follows specific instructions from its client when placing an order with, or transmitting an order to, another entity for execution.
Upon reasonable request from a client, investment firms shall provide its clients or potential clients with information about entities where the orders are transmitted or placed for execution.
Investment firms shall review the policy and arrangements at least annually. Such a review shall also be carried out whenever a material change occurs that affects the firm's ability to continue to obtain the best possible result for their clients.
Investment firms shall assess whether a material change has occurred and shall consider making changes to the execution venues or entities on which they place significant reliance in meeting the overarching best execution requirement.
A material change shall be a significant event that could impact parameters of best execution such as cost, price, speed, likelihood of execution and settlement, size, nature or any other consideration relevant to the execution of the order.
Article 66
Execution policy
(Article 27(5) and (7) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Such a review shall also be carried out whenever a material change as defined in Article 65(7) occurs that affects the firm's ability to continue to obtain the best possible result for the execution of its client orders on a consistent basis using the venues included in its execution policy. An investment firm shall assess whether a material change has occurred and shall consider making changes to the relative importance of the best execution factors in meeting the overarching best execution requirement.
Investment firms shall provide clients with the following details on their execution policy in good time prior to the provision of the service:
an account of the relative importance the investment firm assigns, in accordance with the criteria specified in Article 59(1), to the factors referred to in Article 27(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU, or the process by which the firm determines the relative importance of those factors.
a list of the execution venues on which the firm places significant reliance in meeting its obligation to take all reasonable steps to obtain on a consistent basis the best possible result for the execution of client orders and specifying which execution venues are used for each class of financial instruments, for retail client orders, professional client orders and SFTs;
a list of factors used to select an execution venue, including qualitative factors such as clearing schemes, circuit breakers, scheduled actions, or any other relevant consideration, and the relative importance of each factor; The information about the factors used to select an execution venue for execution shall be consistent with the controls used by the firm to demonstrate to clients that best execution has been achieved in a consistent basis when reviewing the adequacy of its policy and arrangements;
how the execution factors of price costs, speed, likelihood of execution and any other relevant factors are considered as part of all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for the client;
where applicable, information that the firm executes orders outside a trading venue, the consequences, for example counterparty risk arising from execution outside a trading venue, and upon client request, additional information about the consequences of this means of execution;
a clear and prominent warning that any specific instructions from a client may prevent the firm from taking the steps that it has designed and implemented in its execution policy to obtain the best possible result for the execution of those orders in respect of the elements covered by those instructions;
a summary of the selection process for execution venues, execution strategies employed, the procedures and process used to analyse the quality of execution obtained and how the firms monitor and verify that the best possible results were obtained for clients.
That information shall be provided in a durable medium, or by means of a website (where that does not constitute a durable medium) provided that the conditions specified in Article 3(2) are satisfied.
SECTION 6
Client order handling
Article 67
General principles
(Articles 28(1) and 24(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall satisfy the following conditions when carrying out client orders:
ensure that orders executed on behalf of clients are promptly and accurately recorded and allocated;
carry out otherwise comparable client orders sequentially and promptly unless the characteristics of the order or prevailing market conditions make this impracticable, or the interests of the client require otherwise;
inform a retail client about any material difficulty relevant to the proper carrying out of orders promptly upon becoming aware of the difficulty.
Article 68
Aggregation and allocation of orders
(Articles 28(1) and 24(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall not carry out a client order or a transaction for own account in aggregation with another client order unless the following conditions are met:
it is unlikely that the aggregation of orders and transactions will work overall to the disadvantage of any client whose order is to be aggregated;
it is disclosed to each client whose order is to be aggregated that the effect of aggregation may work to its disadvantage in relation to a particular order;
an order allocation policy is established and effectively implemented, providing for the fair allocation of aggregated orders and transactions, including how the volume and price of orders determines allocations and the treatment of partial executions.
Article 69
Aggregation and allocation of transactions for own account
(Articles 28(1) and 24(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Where an investment firm is able to demonstrate on reasonable grounds that without the combination it would not have been able to carry out the order on such advantageous terms, or at all, it may allocate the transaction for own account proportionally, in accordance with its order allocation policy referred to in Article 68(1)(c).
Article 70
Prompt fair and expeditious execution of client orders and publication of unexecuted client limit orders for shares traded on a trading venue
(Article 28 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
SECTION 7
Eligible counterparties
Article 71
Eligible counterparties
(Article 30 of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Where a client requests to be treated as an eligible counterparty, in accordance with Article 30(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU, the following procedure shall be followed:
the investment firm shall provide the client with a clear written warning of the consequences for the client of such a request, including the protections they may lose;
the client shall confirm in writing the request to be treated as an eligible counterparty either generally or in respect of one or more investment services or a transaction or type of transaction or product and that they are aware of the consequences of the protection they may lose as a result of the request.
SECTION 8
Record-keeping
Article 72
Retention of records
(Article 16(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The records shall be retained in a medium that allows the storage of information in a way accessible for future reference by the competent authority, and in such a form and manner that the following conditions are met:
the competent authority is able to access them readily and to reconstitute each key stage of the processing of each transaction;
it is possible for any corrections or other amendments, and the contents of the records prior to such corrections or amendments, to be easily ascertained;
it is not possible for the records otherwise to be manipulated or altered;
it allows IT or any other efficient exploitation when the analysis of the data cannot be easily carried out due to the volume and the nature of the data; and
the firm's arrangements comply with the record keeping requirements irrespective of the technology used.
The list of records identified in Annex I to this Regulation is without prejudice to any other record-keeping obligations arising from other legislation.
Competent authorities may require investment firms to keep additional records to the list identified in Annex I to this Regulation.
Article 73
Record keeping of rights and obligations of the investment firm and the client
(Article 25(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Records which set out the respective rights and obligations of the investment firm and the client under an agreement to provide services, or the terms on which the firm provides services to the client, shall be retained for at least the duration of the relationship with the client.
Article 74
Record keeping of client orders and decision to deal
(Article 16(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An investment firm shall, in relation to every initial order received from a client and in relation to every initial decision to deal taken, immediately record and keep at the disposal of the competent authority at least the details set out in Section 1 of Annex IV to this Regulation to the extent they are applicable to the order or decision to deal in question.
Where the details set out in Section 1 of Annex IV to this Regulation are also prescribed under Articles 25 and 26 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014, these details should be maintained in a consistent way and according to the same standards prescribed under Articles 25 and 26 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014.
Article 75
Record keeping of transactions and order processing
(Article 16(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall, immediately after receiving a client order or making a decision to deal to the extent they are applicable to the order or decision to deal in question, record and keep at the disposal of the competent authority at least the details set out in Section 2 of Annex IV.
Where the details set out in Section 2 of Annex IV are also prescribed under Articles 25 and 26 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014, they shall be maintained in a consistent way and according to the same standards prescribed under Articles 25 and 26 of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014.
Article 76
Recording of telephone conversations or electronic communications
(Article 16(7) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Investment firms shall establish, implement and maintain an effective recording of telephone conversations and electronic communications policy, set out in writing, and appropriate to the size and organisation of the firm, and the nature, scale and complexity of its business. The policy shall include the following content:
the identification of the telephone conversations and electronic communications, including relevant internal telephone conversations and electronic communications, that are subject to the recording requirements in accordance with Article 16(7) of Directive 2014/65/EU; and
the specification of the procedures to be followed and measures to be adopted to ensure the firm's compliance with the third and eighth subparagraphs of Article 16(7) of Directive 2014/65/EU where exceptional circumstances arise and the firm is unable to record the conversation/communication on devices issued, accepted or permitted by the firm. Evidence of such circumstances shall be retained and shall be accessible to competent authorities.
Before investment firms provide investment services and activities relating to the reception, transmission and execution of orders to new and existing clients, firms shall inform the client of the following:
that the conversations and communications are being recorded; and
that a copy of the recording of such conversations with the client and communications with the client will be available on request for a period of five years and, where requested by the competent authority, for a period of up to seven years.
The information referred to in the first sub-paragraph shall be presented in the same language(s) as that used to provide investment services to clients.
Investment firms shall record in a durable medium all relevant information related to relevant face-to-face conversations with clients. The information recorded shall include at least the following:
date and time of meetings;
location of meetings;
identity of the attendees;
initiator of the meetings; and
relevant information about the client order including the price, volume, type of order and when it shall be transmitted or executed.
Records shall be stored in a medium so that they are readily accessible and available to clients on request.
Firms shall ensure the quality, accuracy and completeness of the records of all telephone recordings and electronic communications.
SECTION 9
SME growth markets
Article 77
Qualification as an SME
(Article 4(1)(13) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
An issuer whose shares have been admitted to trading for less than three years shall be deemed an SME for the purpose of point (a) of Article 33(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU where its market capitalisation is below EUR 200 million based on any of the following:
the closing share price of the first day of trading, if its shares have been admitted to trading for less than one year;
the last closing share price of the first year of trading, if its shares have been admitted to trading for more than one year but less than two years;
the average of the last closing share prices of each of the first two years of trading, if its shares have been admitted to trading for more than two years but less than three years.
Article 78
Registration as an SME growth market
(Article 33(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Without prejudice to the other conditions for registration specified in points (b) to (g) of Article 33(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU, the competent authority shall register as an SME growth market an applicant with no previous operating history and, after three calendar years have elapsed, shall verify that it complies with the minimum proportion of SMEs, as determined in accordance with the first subparagraph.
With regard to the criteria laid out in points (b), (c), (d) and (f) of Article 33(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU, the competent authority of the home Member State of the operator of an MTF shall not register the MTF as an SME growth market unless it is satisfied that the MTF:
has established and applies rules providing for objective and transparent criteria for the initial and ongoing admission to trading of issuers on its venue;
has an operating model which is appropriate for the performance of its functions and ensures the maintenance of fair and orderly trading in the financial instruments admitted to trading on its venue;
has established and applies rules that require an issuer seeking admission of its financial instruments to trading on the MTF, to publish, in cases where Directive 2003/71/EC does not apply, an appropriate admission document, drawn up under the responsibility of the issuer and clearly stating whether or not it has been approved or reviewed and by whom;
has established and applies rules that define the minimum content of the admission document referred to under point (c), in such a way that sufficient information is provided to investors to enable them to make an informed assessment of the financial position and prospects of the issuer, and the rights attaching to its securities;
requires the issuer to state, in the admission document referred to under point (c), whether or not, in its opinion, its working capital is sufficient for its present requirements or, if not, how it proposes to provide the additional working capital needed;
has made arrangements for the admission document referred to under point (c) to be subject to an appropriate review of its completeness, consistency and comprehensibility;
requires the issuers whose securities are traded on its venue to publish annual financial reports within 6 months after the end of each financial year, and half yearly financial reports within 4 months after the end of the first 6 months of each financial year;
ensures dissemination to the public of prospectuses drawn up in accordance with Directive 2003/71/EC, admission documents referred to under point (c), financial reports referred to under point (g) and information defined in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 publicly disclosed by the issuers whose securities are traded on its venue, by publishing them on its website, or providing thereon a direct link to the page of the website of the issuers where such documents, reports and information are published;
ensures that the regulatory information referred to under point (h) and direct links remain available on its website for a period of at least five years;
requires issuers seeking admission of their shares to trading on its venue for the first time to allocate a minimum amount of their issued shares available for trading on the MTF, in accordance with a threshold to be established by the operator of the MTF and expressed either as an absolute value or as a percentage of the total issued share capital.
The operator of an MTF may exempt issuers that have no equity instruments traded on the MTF from the requirement to publish half-yearly financial reports referred to in point (g) of the first subparagraph of this paragraph. Where the operator of an MTF exercises the option pursuant to the first sentence of this subparagraph, the competent authority shall not require, for the purposes of point (g) of the first subparagraph, that issuers that have no equity instruments traded on the MTF be required to publish half-yearly financial reports.
Article 79
Deregistration as an SME growth market
(Article 33(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
CHAPTER IV
OPERATING OBLIGATIONS FOR TRADING VENUES
Article 80
Circumstances constituting significant damage to investors' interests and the orderly functioning of the market
(Articles 32(1), 32(2), 52(1) and 52(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purpose of Articles 32(1), 32(2), 52(1) and 52(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU, a suspension or a removal from trading of a financial instrument shall be deemed likely to cause significant damage to investors' interests or the orderly functioning of the market at least in the following circumstances:
where it would create a systemic risk undermining financial stability, such as where the need exists to unwind a dominant market position, or where settlement obligations would not be met in a significant volume;
where the continuation of trading on the market is necessary to perform critical post-trade risk management functions when there is a need for the liquidation of financial instruments due to the default of a clearing member under the default procedures of a CCP and a CCP would be exposed to unacceptable risks as a result of an inability to calculate margin requirements;
where the financial viability of the issuer would be threatened, such as where it is involved in a corporate transaction or capital raising.
For the purpose of determining whether a suspension or a removal is likely to cause significant damage to the investors' interest or the orderly functioning of the markets in any particular case, the national competent authority, a market operator operating a regulated market or an investment firm or a market operator operating an MTF or an OTF shall consider all relevant factors, including:
the relevance of the market in terms of liquidity where the consequences of the actions are likely to be more significant where those markets are more relevant in terms of liquidity than in other markets;
the nature of the envisaged action where actions with a sustained or lasting impact on the ability of investors to trade a financial instrument on trading venues, such as removals, are likely to have a greater impact on investors than other actions;
the knock-on effects of a suspension or removal of sufficiently related derivatives, indices or benchmarks for which the removed or suspended instrument serves as an underlying or constituent;
the effects of a suspension on the interests of market end users who are not financial counterparties, such as entities trading in financial instruments to hedge commercial risks.
Article 81
Circumstances where significant infringements of the rules of a trading venue or disorderly trading conditions or system disruptions in relation to a financial instrument may be assumed
(Articles 31(2) and 54(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 82
Circumstances where a conduct indicating behaviour that is prohibited under Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 may be assumed
(Articles 31(2) and 54(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The operator of one or several trading venues where a financial instrument and/or related financial instrument are traded shall apply a proportionate approach and shall exercise judgment on the signals triggered, including any relevant signals not specifically included in Section B of Annex III to this Regulation, before informing the relevant national competent authority, taking into account the following:
the deviations from the usual trading pattern of the financial instruments admitted to trading or traded on its trading venue; and
the information available or accessible to the operator, whether that be internally as part of the operations of the trading venue or publicly available.
CHAPTER V
POSITION REPORTING IN COMMODITY DERIVATIVES
Article 83
Position reporting
(Article 58(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
For the purpose of the weekly reports referred to in Art 58(1)(a) of Directive 2014/65/EU, the obligation for a trading venue to make public such a report shall apply when both of the following two thresholds are met:
20 open position holders exist in a given contract on a given trading venue; and
the absolute amount of the gross long or short volume of total open interest expressed in the number of lots of the relevant commodity derivative is equal to, or exceeds, 10 000 lots.
For emission allowances and derivatives thereof, point (b) shall not apply.
CHAPTER VI
DATA PROVISION OBLIGATIONS FOR DATA REPORTING SERVICE PROVIDERS
Article 84
Obligation to provide market data on a reasonable commercial basis
(Article 64(1) and 65(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 85
Provision of market data on the basis of cost
(Article 64(1) and 65(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 86
Obligation to provide market data on a non-discriminatory basis
(Article 64(1) and 65(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Any differentials in prices charged to different categories of customers shall be proportionate to the value which the market data represent to those customers, taking into account:
the scope and scale of the market data including the number of financial instruments covered and trading volume;
the use made by the customer of the market data, including whether it is used for the customer's own trading activities, for resale or for data aggregation.
Article 87
Per user fees
(Article 64(1) and 65(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 88
Unbundling and disaggregating market data
(Article 64(1) and 65(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
Article 89
Transparency obligation
(Article 64(1) and 65(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The disclosure shall include the following:
current price lists, including the following information:
fees per display user;
non-display fees;
discount policies;
fees associated with licence conditions;
fees for pre-trade and for post-trade market data;
fees for other subsets of information, including those required in accordance with the regulatory technical standards pursuant to Article 12(2) of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014;
other contractual terms and conditions;
advance disclosure with a minimum of 90 days' notice of future price changes;
information on the content of the market data including the following information:
the number of instruments covered;
the total turnover of instruments covered;
pre-trade and post-trade market data ratio;
information on any data provided in addition to market data;
the date of the last licence fee adaption for market data provided;
revenue obtained from making market data available and the proportion of that revenue compared to total revenue of the APA or CTP;
information on how the price was set, including the cost accounting methodologies used and information about the specific principles according to which direct and variable joint costs are allocated and fixed joint costs are apportioned, between the production and dissemination of market data and other services provided by APAs and CTPs.
CHAPTER VII
COMPETENT AUTHORITIES AND FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 90
Determination of the substantial importance of the operations of a trading venue in a host Member State
(Article 79(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU)
The operations of a regulated market in a host Member State shall be considered to be of substantial importance for the functioning of the securities markets and the protection of investors in that host Member State where at least one of the following criteria is met:
the host Member State has formerly been the home Member State of the regulated market in question;
the regulated market in question has acquired through merger, takeover, or any other form of transfer of the whole or part of the business of a regulated market which was previously operated by a market operator which had its registered office or head office in the host Member State.
The operations of an MTF or OTF in a host Member State shall be considered to be of substantial importance for the functioning of the securities markets and the protection of investors in that host Member State where at least one of the criteria laid down in paragraph 1 is met in regard to that MTF or OTF and at least one of the following additional criteria is met:
before one of the situations set out in paragraph 1 occurred in regard to the MTF or OTF, the trading venue had a market share of at least 10 % of trading in terms of total turnover in monetary terms in on-venue trading and systematic internaliser trading in the host Member State in at least one asset class subject to the transparency obligations of Regulation (EU) No 600/2014;
the MTF or OTF is registered as an SME growth market.
CHAPTER VIII
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 91
Entry into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 3 January 2018.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
ANNEX I
Record-keeping
Minimum list of records to be kept by investment firms depending upon the nature of their activities
Nature of obligation |
Type of record |
Summary of content |
Legislative reference |
Client assessment |
|||
|
Information to clients |
Content as provided for under Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU and Articles 39 to 45 of this Regulation |
Article 24(4) MIFID II Articles 39 to 45 of this Regulation |
|
Client agreements |
Records as provided for under Article 25(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU |
Article 25(5) MIFID II Article 53 of this Regulation |
|
Assessment of suitability and appropriateness |
Content as provided for under Article 25(2) and (3) of Directive 2014/65/EU and Article 50 of this Regulation |
Article 25(2) and (3) of Directive 2014/65/EU Articles 35, 36 and 37 of this Regulation |
Order handling |
|||
|
Client order-handling — Aggregated transactions |
Records as provided for under Articles 63 to 66 of this Regulation |
Articles 24(1) and 28(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU Articles 63 to 66 of this Regulation |
|
Aggregation and allocation of trans-actions for own account |
Records as provided for under Article 65 of this Regulation |
Articles 28(1) and 24(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 65 of this Regulation |
Client Orders and transactions |
|||
|
Record keeping of client orders or decision to deal |
Records as provided for under Article 69 of this Regulation |
Article 16(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 69 of this Regulation |
|
Record keeping of transactions and order processing |
Records as provided for under Article 70 of this Regulation |
Article 16(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 70 of this Regulation |
Reporting to clients |
|||
|
Obligation in respect of services provided to clients |
Contents as provided for under Articles 53 to 58 of this Regulation |
Article 24(1) and (6) and Article 25(1) and (6) of Directive 2014/65/EU Articles 53 to 58 of this Regulation |
Safeguarding of client assets |
|||
|
Client financial instruments held by an investment firm |
Records as provided for under Article 16(8) of Directive 2014/65/EU and under Article 2 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
Article 16(8) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 2 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
|
Client funds held by an investment firm |
Records as provided for under Article 16(9) of Directive 2014/65/EU and under Article 2 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
Article 16(9) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 2 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
|
Use of client financial instruments |
Records provided for under Article 5 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
Article 16(8) to (10) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 5 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
Communication with clients |
|||
|
Information about Costs and associated charges |
Contents as provided for under Article 45 of this Regulation |
Article 24(4)(c) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 45 of this Regulation |
|
Information about the investment firm and its services, financial instruments and safe-guarding of client assets |
Content as provided for under Articles 45 and 46 of this Regulation |
Article 24(4) of Directive 2014/65/EU Articles 45 and 46 of this Regulation |
|
Information to clients |
Records of communication |
Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 39 of this Regulation |
|
Marketing communications (except in oral form) |
Each marketing communication issued by the investment firm (except in oral form) as provided under Articles 36 and 37 of this Regulation |
Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU Articles 36 and 37 of this Regulation |
|
Investment advice to retail clients |
(i) The fact, time and date that investment advice was rendered and (ii) the financial instrument that was recommended (iii) the suitability report provided to the client |
Article 25(6) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 54 of this Regulation |
|
Investment research |
Each item of investment research issued by the investment firm in a durable medium |
Article 24(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU Articles 36 and 37 of this Regulation |
Organisational requirements |
|||
|
The firm's business and internal organisation |
Records as provided for under Article 21(1)(h) of this Regulation |
Article 16(2) to (10) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 21(1)(h) of this Regulation |
|
Compliance reports |
Each compliance report to management body |
Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 22(2)(b) and Article 25(2) of this Regulation |
|
Conflict of Interest record |
Records as provided for under Article 35 of this Regulation |
Article 16(3) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 35 of this Regulation |
|
Inducements |
The information dis-closed to clients under Article 24(9) of Directive 2014/65/EU |
Article 24(9) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 11 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 |
|
Risk management reports |
Each risk management report to senior management |
Article 16(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 23(1)(b) and Article 25(2) of this Regulation |
|
Internal audit reports |
Each internal audit report to senior management |
Article 16(5) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 24 and Article 25(2) of this Regulation |
|
Complaints-handling records |
Each complaint and the complaint handling measures taken to address the complaint |
Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 26 of this Regulation |
|
Records of personal transactions |
Records as provided for under Article 29(2)(c) of this Regulation |
Article 16(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU Article 29(2)(c) of this Regulation |
ANNEX II
Costs and charges
Identified costs that should form part of the costs to be disclosed to the clients ( 14 )
Table 1 — All costs and associated charges charged for the investment service(s) and/or ancillary services provided to the client that should form part of the amount to be disclosed
Cost items to be disclosed |
Examples: |
|
One-off charges related to the provision of an investment service |
All costs and charges paid to the investment firm at the beginning or at the end of the provided investment service(s). |
Deposit fees, termination fees and switching costs (1). |
Ongoing charges related to the provision of an investment service |
All ongoing costs and charges paid to investment firms for their services provided to the client. |
Management fees, advisory fees, custodian fees. |
All costs related to transactions initiated in the course of the provision of an investment service |
All costs and charges that are related to transactions performed by the investment firm or other parties. |
Broker commissions (2), entry- and exit-charges paid to the fund manager, platform fees, mark ups (embedded in the transaction price), stamp duty, transactions tax and foreign exchange costs. |
Any charges that are related to ancillary services |
Any costs and charges that are related to ancillary services that are not included in the costs mentioned above. |
Research costs. Custody costs. |
Incidental costs |
|
Performance fees |
(1)
Switching costs should be understood as costs (if any) that are incurred by investors by switching from one investment firm to another investment firm.
(2)
Broker commissions should be understood as costs that are charged by investment firms for the execution of orders. |
Table 2 — All costs and associated charges related to the financial instrument that should form part of the amount to be disclosed
Cost items to be disclosed |
Examples: |
|
One-off charges |
All costs and charges (included in the price or in addition to the price of the financial instrument) paid to product suppliers at the beginning or at the end of the investment in the financial instrument. |
Front-loaded management fee, structuring fee (1), distribution fee. |
Ongoing charges |
All ongoing costs and charges related to the management of the financial product that are deducted from the value of the financial instrument during the investment in the financial instrument. |
Management fees, service costs, swap fees, securities lending costs and taxes, financing costs. |
All costs related to the transactions |
All costs and charges that incurred as a result of the acquisition and disposal of investments. |
Broker commissions, entry- and exit-charges paid by the fund, mark ups embedded in the transaction price, stamp duty, transactions tax and foreign exchange costs. |
Incidental costs |
|
Performance fees |
(1)
Structuring fees should be understood as fees charged by manufacturers of structured investment products for structuring the products. They may cover a broader range of services provided by the manufacturer. |
ANNEX III
Requirement for operators of trading venues to immediately inform their national competent authority
SECTION A
Signals that may indicate significant infringements of the rules of a trading venue or disorderly trading conditions or system disruptions in relation to a financial instrument
Significant infringements of the rules of a trading venue
1. Market participants infringe rules of the trading venue which aim to protect the market integrity, the orderly functioning of the market or the significant interests of the other market participants; and
2. A trading venue considers that an infringement is of sufficient severity or impact to justify consideration of disciplinary action.
Disorderly trading conditions
3. The price discovery process is interfered with over a significant period of time;
4. The capacities of the trading systems are reached or exceeded;
5. Market makers/liquidity providers repeatedly claim mis-trades; or
6. Breakdown or failure of critical mechanisms under Article 48 of Directive 2014/65/EU and its implementing measures which are designed to protect the trading venue against the risks of algorithmic trading.
System disruptions
7. Any major malfunction or breakdown of the system for market access that results in participants losing their ability to enter, adjust or cancel their orders;
8. Any major malfunction or breakdown of the system for the matching of transactions, that results in participants losing certainty over the status of completed transactions or live orders as well as unavailability of information indispensable for trading (e.g., index value dissemination for trading certain derivatives on that index);
9. Any major malfunction or breakdown of the systems for the dissemination of pre- and post-trade transparency and other relevant data published by trading venues in accordance with their obligations under Directive 2014/65/EU and Regulation (EU) No 600/2014;
10. Any major malfunction or breakdown of the systems of the trading venue to monitor and control the trading activities of the market participants; and any major malfunction or breakdown in the sphere of other interrelated services providers, in particular CCPs and CSDs, that has repercussions on the trading system.
SECTION B
Signals that may indicate abusive behaviour under Regulation (EU) No 596/2014
Signals of possible insider dealing or market manipulation
1. Unusual concentration of transactions and/or orders to trade in a particular financial instrument with one member/participant or between certain members/participants.
2. Unusual repetition of a transaction among a small number of members/participants over a certain period of time.
Signals of possible insider dealing
3. Unusual and significant trading or submission of orders to trade in the financial instruments of a company by certain members/participants before the announcement of important corporate events or of price sensitive information relating to the company; orders to trade/transactions resulting in sudden and unusual changes in the volume of orders/transactions and/or prices before public announcements regarding the financial instrument in question.
4. Whether orders to trade are given or transactions are undertaken by a market member/participant before or immediately after that member/participant or persons publicly known as linked to that member/participant produce or disseminate research or investment recommendations that are made publicly available.
Signals of possible market manipulation
The signals described below in points 18 to 23 are particularly relevant in an automated trading environment.
5. Orders to trade given or transactions undertaken which represent a significant proportion of the daily volume of transactions in the relevant financial instrument on the trading venue concerned, in particular when these activities lead to a significant change in the price of the financial instruments.
6. Orders to trade given or transactions undertaken by a member/participant with a significant buying or selling interest in a financial instrument which lead to significant changes in the price of the financial instrument on a trading venue.
7. Orders to trade given or transactions undertaken which are concentrated within a short time span in the trading session and lead to a price change which is subsequently reversed.
8. Orders to trade given which change the representation of the best bid or offer prices in a financial instrument admitted to trading or traded on a trading venue, or more generally the representation of the order book available to market participants, and are removed before they are executed.
9. Transactions or orders to trade by a market/participant with no other apparent justification than to increase/decrease the price or value of, or to have a significant impact on the supply of or demand for a financial instrument, namely near the reference point during the trading day, e.g. at the opening or near the close.
10. Buying or selling of a financial instrument at the reference time of the trading session (e.g. opening, closing, settlement) in an effort to increase, to decrease or to maintain the reference price (e.g. opening price, closing price, settlement price) at a specific level (usually known as marking the close).
11. Transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of increasing/decreasing the weighted average price of the day or of a period during the session.
12. Transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of, setting a market price when the liquidity of the financial instrument or the depth of the order book is not sufficient to fix a price within the session.
13. Execution of a transaction, changing the bid-offer prices when this spread is a factor in the determination of the price of another transaction whether or not on the same trading venue.
14. Entering orders representing significant volumes in the central order book of the trading system a few minutes before the price determination phase of the auction and cancelling these orders a few seconds before the order book is frozen for computing the auction price so that the theoretical opening price might look higher or lower than it otherwise would do.
15. Engaging in a transaction or series of transactions which are shown on a public display facility to give the impression of activity or price movement in a financial instrument (usually known as painting the tape).
16. Transactions carried out as a result of the entering of buy and sell orders to trade at or nearly at the same time, with the very similar quantity and similar price by the same or different but colluding market members/participants (usually known as improper matched orders).
17. Transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of bypassing the trading safeguards of the market (e.g. as regards volume limits; price limits; bid/offer spread parameters; etc.).
18. Entering of orders to trade or a series of orders to trade, executing transactions or series of transactions likely to start or exacerbate a trend and to encourage other participants to accelerate or extend the trend in order to create an opportunity to close out/open a position at a favourable price (usually know as momentum ignition).
19. Submitting multiple or large orders to trade often away from the touch on one side of the order book in order to execute a trade on the other side of the order book. Once that trade has taken place, the manipulative orders will be removed (usually known as layering and spoofing).
20. Entry of small orders to trade in order to ascertain the level of hidden orders and particularly used to assess what is resting on a dark platform (usually know as ping order).
21. Entry of large numbers of orders to trade and/or cancellations and/or updates to orders to trade so as to create uncertainty for other participants, slowing down their process and to camouflage their own strategy (usually known as quote stuffing).
22. Posting of orders to trade, to attract other market members/participants employing traditional trading techniques (‘slow traders’), that are then rapidly revised onto less generous terms, hoping to execute profitably against the incoming flow of ‘slow traders’ orders to trade (usually known as smoking).
23. Executing orders to trade or a series of orders to trade, in order to uncover orders of other participants, and then entering an order to trade to take advantage of the information obtained (usually known as phishing).
24. The extent to which, to the best knowledge of the operator of a trading venue, orders to trade given or transactions undertaken show evidence of position reversals in a short period and represent a significant proportion of the daily volume of transactions in the relevant financial instrument on the trading venue concerned, and might be associated with significant changes in the price of a financial instrument admitted to trading or traded on the trading venue.
Signals for cross-product market manipulation, including across different trading venues
The signals described below should be particularly considered by the operator of a trading venue where both a financial instrument and related financial instruments are admitted to trading or traded or where the above mentioned instruments are traded on several trading venues operated by the same operator.
25. Transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of increasing/decreasing/maintaining the price of a financial instrument during the days preceding the issue, optional redemption or expiry of a related derivative or convertible;
26. Transactions or orders to trade which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of maintaining the price of the underlying financial instrument below or above the strike price, or other element used to determine the pay-out (e.g. barrier), of a related derivative at expiration date;
27. Transactions which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of modifying the price of the underlying financial instrument so that it surpasses/not reaches the strike price, or other element used to determine the pay-out (e.g. barrier), of a related derivative at expiration date;
28. Transactions which have the effect of, or are likely to have the effect of modifying the settlement price of a financial instrument when this price is used as a reference/determinant, namely, in the calculation of margins requirements;
29. Orders to trade given or transactions undertaken by a member/participant with a significant buying or selling interest in a financial instrument which lead to significant changes in the price of the related derivative or underlying asset admitted to trading on a trading venue;
30. Undertaking trading or entering orders to trade in one trading venue or outside a trading venue (including entering indications of interest) with a view to improperly influencing the price of a related financial instrument in another or in the same trading venue or outside a trading venue (usually known as cross-product manipulation (trading on financial instrument to improperly position the price of a related financial instrument in another or in the same trading venue or outside a trading venue)).
31. Creating or enhancing arbitrage possibilities between a financial instrument and another related financial instrument by influencing reference prices of one of the financial instruments can be carried out with different financial instruments (like rights/shares, cash markets/derivatives markets, warrants/shares, …). In the context of rights issues, it could be achieved by influencing the (theoretical) opening or (theoretical) closing price of the rights.
ANNEX IV
SECTION 1
Record keeping of client orders and decision to deal
1. Name and designation of the client
2. Name and designation of any relevant person acting on behalf of the client
3. A designation to identify the trader (Trader ID) responsible within the investment firm for the investment decision
4. A designation to identify the algorithm (Algo ID) responsible within the investment firm for the investment decision;
5. B/S indicator;
6. Instrument identification
7. Unit price and price notation;
8. Price
9. Price multiplier
10. Currency 1
11. Currency 2
12. Initial quantity and quantity notation;
13. Validity period
14. Type of the order;
15. Any other details, conditions and particular instructions from the client;
16. The date and exact time of the receipt of the order or the date and exact time of when the decision to deal was made. The exact time must be measured according to the methodology prescribed under the standards on clock synchronisation under Article 50(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU.
SECTION 2
Record keeping of transactions and order processing
1. name and designation of the client;
2. name and designation of any relevant person acting on behalf of the client;
3. a designation to identify the trader (Trader ID) responsible within the investment firm for the investment decision;
4. a designation to identify the Algo (Ago ID) responsible within the investment firm for the investment decision
5. Transaction reference number
6. a designation to identify the order (Order ID)
7. the identification code of the order assigned by the trading venue upon receipt of the order;
8. a unique identification for each group of aggregated clients' orders (which will be subsequently placed as one block order on a given trading venue). This identification should indicated ‘aggregated_X’ with X representing the number of clients whose orders have been aggregated.
9. the segment MIC code of the trading venue to which the order has been submitted.
10. the name and other designation of the person to whom the order was transmitted
11. designation to identify the Seller & the Buyer
12. the trading capacity
13. a designation to identify the Trader (Trader ID) responsible for the execution
14. a designation to identify the Algo (Algo ID) responsible for the execution
15. B/S indicator;
16. instrument identification
17. ultimate underlying
18. Put/Call identifier
19. Strike price
20. Up-front payment
21. Delivery type
22. Option style
23. Maturity date
24. unit price and price notation;
25. price
26. price multiplier
27. Currency 1
28. Currency 2
29. remaining quantity
30. modified quantity
31. executed quantity
32. the date and exact time of submission of the order or decision to deal. The exact time must be measured according to the methodology prescribed under the standards on clock synchronisation under Article 50(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU
33. the date and exact time of any message that is transmitted to and received from the trading venue in relation to any events affecting an order. The exact time must be measured according to the methodology prescribed under Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/574 ( 15 )
34. the date and exact time any message that is transmitted to and received from another investment firm in relation to any events affecting an order. The exact time must be measured according to the methodology prescribed under the standards on clock synchronisation under Article 50(2) of Directive 2014/65/EU
35. Any message that is transmitted to and received from the trading venue in relation to orders placed by the investment firm;
36. Any other details and conditions that was submitted to and received from another investment firm in relation with the order;
37. Each placed order's sequences in order to reflect the chronology of every event affecting it, including but not limited to modifications, cancellations and execution;
38. Short selling flag
39. SSR exemption flag;
40. Waiver flag
( 1 ) Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and amending Directives 2003/41/EC and 2009/65/EC and Regulations (EC) No 1060/2009 and (EU) No 1095/2010 (OJ L 174, 1.7.2011, p. 1).
( 2 ) Regulation (EU) 2015/2365 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 November 2015 on transparency of securities financing transactions and of reuse and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 337, 23.12.2015, p. 1).
( 3 ) Directive 2009/72/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 July 2009 concerning common rules for the internal market in electricity and repealing Directive 2003/54/EC (OJ L 211, 14.8.2009, p. 55).
( 4 ) Directive 2004/39/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 on markets in financial instruments amending Council Directives 85/611/EEC and 93/6/EEC and Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 93/22/EEC (OJ L 145, 30.4.2004, p. 1).
( 5 ) Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Community and amending Council Directive 96/61/EC (OJ L 275, 25.10.2003, p. 32).
( 6 ) Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2012 on OTC derivatives, central counterparties and trade repositories (OJ L 201, 27.7.2012, p. 1).
( 7 ) Directive 2013/11/EU of the European Parliament and the Council of 21 May 2013 on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes and amending Regulation (EC) No 2006/2004 and Directive 2009/22/EC (Directive on consumer ADR) (OJ L 165, 18.6.2013, p. 63).
( 8 ) Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1).
( 9 ) Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338).
( 10 ) Directive 2014/59/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a framework for the recovery and resolution of credit institutions and investment firms and amending Council Directive 82/891/EEC, and Directives 2001/24/EC, 2002/47/EC, 2004/25/EC, 2005/56/EC, 2007/36/EC, 2011/35/EU, 2012/30/EU and 2013/36/EU, and Regulations (EU) No 1093/2010 and (EU) No 648/2012, of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 190).
( 11 ) Directive 2014/49/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014 on deposit guarantee schemes (OJ L 173, 12.6.2014, p. 149).
( 12 ) Directive 2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 March 2000 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of credit institutions (OJ L 126, 26.5.2000, p. 1).
( 13 ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/572 of 2 June 2016 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards on the specification of the offering of pre-and post-trade data and the level of disaggregation of data (see page 142 of this Official Journal).
( 14 ) It should be noted that certain cost items appear in both tables but are not duplicative since they respectively refer to costs of the product and costs of the service. Examples are the management fees (in table 1, this refers to management fees charged by an investment firm providing the service of portfolio management to its clients while in Table 2 it refers to management fees charged by an investment fund manager to its investor) and broker commissions (in Table 1, they refer to commissions incurred by the investment firm when trading on behalf of its clients while in Table 2 they refer to commissions paid by investment funds when trading on behalf of the fund).
( 15 ) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/574 of 7 June 2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to regulatory technical standards for the level of accuracy of business clocks (see page 148 of this Official Journal).