Do communications made orally or via electronic means such as telephone calls and “chat” functions, or communications labelled e.g. “morning notes” or “sales notes”, constitute an “investment recommendation” under MAR?

For transactions carried out under Article 19(1) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 of the European Parliament and of the council (MAR) in a currency which is not Euro (EUR), which exchange rate should be used to determine if the threshold set forth in Article 19(8) MAR of EUR 5 000 has been crossed?

Article 13 of Regulation (EU) 2015/2365 on transparency of securities financing transactions and of reuse and amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012, requires UCITS management companies, UCITS investment companies, and AIFMs to provide information to investors on the use made of SFTs and total return swaps in the annual report of each UCITS/AIF under management, as well as in each half-yearly report for UCITS. As Article 13 applies from 13 January 2017, which report should be the first to include this disclosure?

A UCITS has a clause in its fund rules limiting investment in units of other funds to 10%, in line with Article 50(1)(e)(iv) of the UCITS Directive. If, in accordance with paragraph 43 of the ESMA Guidelines on ETFs and other UCITS issues, this fund re-invests cash collateral in short-term money market funds, should this investment be included in the calculation when calculating the 10% limit?

When a firm provides the investment service of advice or portfolio management to a client who is unwilling to fully disclose information on his/her financial situation, can the firm assess the suitability of the envisaged transaction? If yes, under which conditions?