On 4 December 2025, the European Commission (Commission) issued a consultation on a draft Delegated Directive amending Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 as regards the conditions for the provision of third-party execution and research services to investment firms that provide portfolio management or other investment or ancillary services.

Background

Directive (EU) 2021/338 amended the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II), to facilitate the development of research on small and middle capitalisation issuers seeking better access to capital markets and investors. The amendment allowed for investment firms to pay jointly for the provision of research and execution services if certain conditions were met. One of the conditions was that the research must relate to issuers with a market capitalisation not exceeding EUR 1 billion, as expressed by the year-end quotes, for the 36 months preceding the provision of the research. For companies with a higher market capitalisation, the obligation to pay separately for research and execution services continued to apply.

Given that the decline in investment research did not slow down following this amendment to MiFID II, Directive (EU) 2024/2811 further amended the Directive to offer investment firms more flexibility in the way they choose to organise payment for execution services and research. It:

  • Removed the too restrictive option for firms to bundle payment for research and execution services only when research concerns companies with a market capitalisation not exceeding EUR 1 billion.
  • Introduce more flexible rules allowing investment firms to choose the most suitable payment method for execution services and research.
  • Lifted the requirement to separate payments where this is deemed too cumbersome for firms, while still allowing them to maintain separate payments if they prefer.
  • Introduced transparency requirements obliging investment firms to disclose to their clients whether they use joint or separate payments.

Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593

To ensure these latest amendments are applied consistently across the EU and to promote research on companies, the Commission is amending Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/5934. In particular, it is revising the rules governing payment methods for research supplied by third parties to investment firms providing portfolio management, investment or other ancillary services. The amendments to Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/5934 follow an earlier consultation and final report issued by the European Securities and Markets Authority.

Next steps

The deadline for comments on the consultation is 1 January 2026.

The draft Delegated Directive enters into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Member States shall adopt and publish, by 5 June 2026 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the draft Delegated Directive. They shall apply those provisions from 6 June 2026.