On the 2^nd January 2020, the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA) issued a Circular to Investment Services Providers highlighting the updated version of ESMA’s Q&A document on the implementation of investor protection requirements under the Market in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (MiFID II/MiFIR). By virtue of the updates to the Q&A, ESMA has clarified matters relating to (i) the information provided in relation to costs and charges and (ii) the application of national product intervention measures in case of services provided on a cross-border basis, insofar as the application of the MiFID II and MiFIR requirements are concerned.

The updated Q&A is especially relevant for undertakings that market, distribute and/or sell CFDs which are subject to multiple national product intervention measures

As such, the updated Q&A detail how licensees should apply the ex-post disclosure requirements on costs and charges to the service of portfolio management and further clarify how the licensee’s obligation to provide ex-post aggregated costs and charges information (in terms of Article 50(9) of the MiFID II Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565) relate to existing reporting obligations under Article 60 of the same Regulation.

The updated part of the Q&A relative to product intervention measures aims to assist licensees in assessing which national product intervention measures apply in case of services provided on a cross border basis, which is especially relevant for undertakings that market, distribute and/or sell CFDs which are subject to multiple national product intervention measures.

ESMA’s Q&A is effectively a ‘live’ document and is therefore regularly updated in order to reflect regulatory developments on investor protection obligations arising under MiFID II and MiFIR.