European Commission consults on MiFID II research provisions amendments

On 4 December 2025, the European Commission published for consultation a Delegated Directive amending the MiFID II Delegated Directive regarding 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

The draft Delegated Directive follows Directive (EU) 2024/2811 (part of the Listing Act package), which further amended MiFID II to offer investment firms more flexibility in the way they choose to organise payment for execution services and research. The aim of the draft Delegated Directive is to ensure that these amendments are applied consistently across the EU and to promote research on companies.

Amendments

In contrast to most of the other rules relating to research payment account, and compared to the onerous UK requirements, the rules proposed for joint payments are quite light-touch. The only requirement imposed by the Delegated Directive is for investment firms to ensure that the annual assessment of research (which they must undertake pursuant to the Level 1 rules for joint payments) is based on “robust quality criteria enabling firms to objectively assess the quality, usability, value of the research and the ability of the research to contribute to better investment decisions” and that they take appropriate remedial actions if they assess the research to be of low quality.

The proposed rules are therefore lighter than what ESMA initially proposed in its October 2024 consultation, which would have required investment firms to enter into agreements for joint payments with brokers, and to ensure that the methodology for remuneration agreed with the broker (i) ensures the investment firm does not pay substantially more for research compared to what the investment firm would pay for directly; and (ii) does not impede the firm’s ability to comply with the best execution requirements.

Timings

The consultation closes on 1 January 2026. 

The Delegated Directive will enter into force on the twentieth day following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU and will apply from 6 June 2026.