ESMA · ESMA_QA_1740 Answer Published

Information implicitly recommending or suggesting an investment strategy

Regulation
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 - Market Intergrity
Topic
Investment recommendations and statistics and disclosure of information on the media
Submitted
2016-10-26
Answered
2016-10-26

Question

Does material intended for distribution channels or for the public concerning one or several financial instruments that contains statements indicating that the concerned financial instruments are “undervalued”, “fairly valued” or “overvalued” fall within the definition of “investment recommendation” under MAR?

Answer

[ESMA70-145-111 MAR Q&A, Q&A 8.4] Such material which concerns one or several financial instruments admitted to trading on a regulated market or a multilateral trading facility or for which a request for admission to trading on such a market has been made, or, traded on a multilateral trading facility or an organised trading facility, is considered as information implicitly recommending or suggesting an investment strategy pursuant to Article 3(1)(34) of MAR, insofar as it contains a valuation statement as to the price of the concerned financial instruments. Furthermore, material containing an estimated value such as a “quantitative fair value estimate” that is providing a projected price level or “price target”, or any other elements of opinion on the value of the financial instruments, is also considered to be information implicitly recommending or suggesting an investment strategy pursuant to Article 3(1)(34) of MAR. As the material referred to above is an investment recommendation under MAR, it needs to comply with the relevant obligations and standards set out in MAR and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the objective presentation of investment recommendations or other information recommending or suggesting an investment strategy and the disclosure of particular interests and conflicts of interest by producers of such recommendations. In addition, a third party that disseminates such material is considered as a disseminator of investment recommendations and therefore needs to comply with the relevant obligations and standards set out in MAR and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/958 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

This Q&A is published by European Securities and Markets Authority and is non-binding. It does not constitute legal advice. Updated weekly from official ESA sources.

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