Investment and investment strategy recommendations
Investment decisions are frequently based on investment and investment strategy recommendations. High standards are required in this area in order to uphold investor confidence. These standards concern the objectivity, care and identity of those preparing and disseminating investment and investment strategy recommendations.
In the interest of investors, the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and Delegated Regulation 2016/958 stipulate that minimum requirements must be complied with when preparing investment and investment strategy recommendations (formerly “financial analyses”). Relationships and circumstances concerning any analysed financial instrument that may impair the objectivity of the recommendation should be disclosed. Companies which produce or disseminate investment and investment strategy recommendations must be organised in such a way that conflicts of interest are kept to a minimum. BaFin monitors compliance with these obligations.
Before producing or disseminating recommendations, natural and legal persons who, in the exercise of their profession or as part of their business activities, are responsible for producing or disseminating investment and investment strategy recommendations must notify BaFin of this in accordance with section 86 of the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz – WpHG). Together with the notifications, they must provide sufficient proof of identity.
If you intend to produce or disseminate investment recommendations subject to the notification requirement, you can use one of the following notification forms in accordance with section 86 of the WpHG:
The following are not subject to this notification requirement:
- investment services enterprises, asset management companies, EU management companies and investment companies
- employed analysts who produce recommendations as part of their employment
- journalists, if they are subject to appropriate self-regulation that achieves results comparable to those of the Delegated Regulation
List of independent producers and/or disseminators of investment and investment strategy recommendations within the meaning of the MAR (legal persons and associations of persons only, no natural persons)
All legal persons and associations of persons subject to the notification requirement that have duly notified their activity in accordance with section 86 (1) of the WpHG are included in the "List of independent producers and/or disseminators of investment and investment strategy recommendations within the meaning of the MAR".
The list serves to help investors and market participants to inform themselves easily and at no cost whether the persons responsible for the recommendation have duly fulfilled their notification obligations vis-à-vis BaFin. This enhances the transparency and thus the integrity of the capital market. Producers and/or disseminators of investment recommendations within the meaning of the MAR that have not notified BaFin of their activity or that have not submitted such notification in accordance with the requirements (for example due to a failure to provide justification for the information given) are not included in the list. Natural persons are not included in the list as there is no legal basis for this.
The list is in alphabetical order. The inclusion in the list of a producer and/or disseminator of investment recommendations within the meaning of the MAR does not imply any statement on the quality of the published analyses. As opposed to credit or financial services institutions, the legislator has not provided for a regular review of the independent producers and/or disseminators of investment recommendations within the meaning of the MAR.
If BaFin receives new information (new notifications, notification of changes etc.), it will update the published list as soon as possible. Independent producers and/or disseminators of investment recommendations within the meaning of the MAR are obliged to notify BaFin of any changes in the data and facts notified as well as of the cessation of their activities within four weeks.
Approach to investment and investment strategy recommendations within the meaning of the MAR
Analyses are usually expressed in a factual tone and cautiously worded. If financial instruments or issuers are advertised in a very exaggerated way, investors should be very careful. In any case, the risk warnings and the information on conflicts of interest (e.g. research on behalf of issuers or other clients) contained in the investment and investment strategy recommendations within the meaning of the MAR should be read carefully. General information on investments in securities can be found on BaFin’s website under
https://www.bafin.de/EN/Verbraucher/GeldanlageWertpapiere/geldanlage_node_en.html.
The list of independent producers and/or disseminators of investment recommendations within the meaning of the MAR was compiled with great care. Nevertheless, we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
