Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2026/374 of 20 February 2026 amending Delegated Direct…

as it stood on 2026-02-20, permalink: /eu-eurlex/32026l0374/2026-02-20

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Outline, 4 provisions

art_1 art_2 art_3 art_4

art_1 #art_1

Article 1

Article 13 of Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 is amended as follows:

(1)	paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:‘1. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that operate a separate research payment account as referred to in Article 24(9a), point (d)(ii), of Directive 2014/65/EU, meet the following conditions relating to the operation of the account:(a)the research payment account is funded by a specific research charge to the client;(b)as part of establishing a research payment account and agreeing the research charge with their clients, investment firms set and regularly assess a research budget as an internal administrative measure;(c)the investment firm is held responsible for the research payment account.’;
(a)	the research payment account is funded by a specific research charge to the client;
(b)	as part of establishing a research payment account and agreeing the research charge with their clients, investment firms set and regularly assess a research budget as an internal administrative measure;
(c)	the investment firm is held responsible for the research payment account.’

(2)	the following paragraph 1a is inserted:‘1a. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that make use of a research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1 provide the following information to their clients:(a)before providing investment services to their clients, information about the budgeted amount for research and the amount of the estimated research charge for each client;(b)annual information on the total costs that the investment firm has incurred for third party research.’;
(a)	before providing investment services to their clients, information about the budgeted amount for research and the amount of the estimated research charge for each client;
(b)	annual information on the total costs that the investment firm has incurred for third party research.’

(2)

the following paragraph 1a is inserted:‘1a. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that make use of a research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1 provide the following information to their clients:(a)before providing investment services to their clients, information about the budgeted amount for research and the amount of the estimated research charge for each client;(b)annual information on the total costs that the investment firm has incurred for third party research.’;

(a)

before providing investment services to their clients, information about the budgeted amount for research and the amount of the estimated research charge for each client;

(b)

annual information on the total costs that the investment firm has incurred for third party research.’

(3)	paragraphs 2 to 7 are replaced by the following:‘2. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that choose to pay separately for execution services and research and that operate a research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1, shall provide, upon request of their clients or of competent authorities all of the following:(a)a list of the providers paid from that research payment account;(b)the total amount those providers were paid over a specified period;(c)the benefits and services received by the investment firm from those providers;(d)how the total amount spent from the research payment account compares to the budget set by the investment firm for that period, noting any rebate or carry-over if residual funds remain in the account.For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (a), Member States shall ensure that the estimated research charge is:(a)only based on a research budget set by the investment firm for the third-party research necessary for the provision of investment services to the clients of that investment firm;(b)not linked to the volume or value of transactions executed on behalf of the clients.3. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that choose to pay separately for execution and research services and that operate a research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1:(a)indicate, for every operational arrangement for the collection of the client research charge, a separately identifiable research charge;(b)fully comply with the conditions set out in paragraphs 1 and 1a.4. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that choose to pay separately for execution services and research and that operate a research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1 do not receive a total amount of research charges that exceeds their research budget.5. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that choose to pay separately for execution services and research and operate a separate research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1 agree with their clients, in their management agreement or general terms of business, the research charge as budgeted by the investment firm and the frequency with which the specific research charge will be deducted from the resources of the client over the year.Member States shall ensure that investment firms only increase their research budget after they have provided their clients with clear information about such intended increases.Member States shall ensure that investment firms have a process to refund any surplus in the research payment account at the end of a period to their clients or to offset it against the research budget and charge calculated for the following period.6. Member States shall ensure that investment firms that choose to pay separately for execution and research services and that operate a research payment account as referred to in paragraph 1, are solely responsible for the management of the research budget referred to in paragraph 1, point (b).Member States shall ensure that the research budget referred to in paragraph 1, point (b) is based on a reasonable assessment of the need for third party research.Member States shall ensure that the allocation of the research budget to purchase third party research is subject to the investment firm’s controls and senior management oversight that are deemed objectively appropriate to ensure that the research budget is managed and used in the best interests of the investment firm’s clients. Member States shall ensure that those controls include a clear audit trail of payments made to research providers and of how the amounts paid were determined with reference to the quality criteria referred to in paragraph 10, first subparagraph. Member States shall ensure that investment firms do not use the research budget and research payment account to fund internal research.7. For the purposes of paragraph 1, point (c), Member States shall ensure that investment firms may delegate the administration of the research payment account to a third party, provided that such arrangement facilitates the purchase of third-party research and the payment to research providers in the name of the investment firm without any undue delay in accordance with the investment’ firm’s instruction.’;
(a)	a list of the providers paid from that research payment account;
(b)	the total amount those providers were paid over a specified period;
(c)	the benefits and services received by the investment firm from those providers;
(d)	how the total amount spent from the research payment account compares to the budget set by the investment firm for that period, noting any rebate or carry-over if residual funds remain in the account.
(a)	only based on a research budget set by the investment firm for the third-party research necessary for the provision of investment services to the clients of that investment firm;
(b)	not linked to the volume or value of transactions executed on behalf of the clients.
(a)	indicate, for every operational arrangement for the collection of the client research charge, a separately identifiable research charge;
(b)	fully comply with the conditions set out in paragraphs 1 and 1a.

(4)	paragraph 8 is deleted;

(5)

the following paragraph 10 is added:‘10. Member States shall ensure that, irrespective of how investment firms pay for execution and research services, they base their annual assessment of the research, required under Article 24(9a), point (c), of Directive 2014/65/EU, on robust quality criteria enabling firms to objectively assess the quality, usability, value of the research and ability of the research to contribute to better investment decisions.Member States shall ensure that investment firms take the necessary remedial actions where assessments reveal a lack of quality, usability, value of the research or lack of contribution of the research to a better investment decision.’.

art_2 #art_2

Article 2

Member States shall adopt and publish, by 5 June 2026 at the latest, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive. They shall forthwith communicate to the Commission the text of those provisions.

They shall apply those provisions from 6 June 2026.

When Member States adopt those provisions, they shall contain a reference to this Directive or be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. Member States shall determine how such reference is to be made.

Member States shall communicate to the Commission the text of the main provisions of national law which they adopt in the field covered by this Directive.

art_3 #art_3

Article 3

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

art_4 #art_4

Article 4

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Provenance and validity dates, identifier, hash

as of	2026-02-20 → this version applied
valid	2026-02-20 → open publisher-asserted
type	DIR_DEL Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2026/374 of 20 February 2026 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
language	en
published	2026-02-20
lex_id	eu-eurlex:32026l0374:2026-02-20
record sha256	2b32df039d25dfb6922c2856ae15757d1e9f1272e39129fc132ea6462f69e44a

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