A "Professional Investor" means a person who is considered to be a professional client or may, on request, be treated as a professional client within the meaning of Annex II of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Directive 2004/39/EC). Under Annex II of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, a professional client is a client who possesses the experience, knowledge and expertise to make its own investment decisions and properly assess the risks that it incurs.
In order to be considered a professional client, the client must comply with the following criteria:
Categories of client who are considered to be professionals
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Entities which are required to be authorised or regulated to operate in the financial markets. The list below should be understood as including all authorised entities carrying out the characteristic activities of the entities mentioned:
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credit institutions
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investment firms
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other authorised or regulated financial institutions
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insurance companies
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collective investment schemes and management companies of such schemes
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pension funds and management companies of such funds
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commodity and commodity derivatives dealers
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locals
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other institutional investors
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Large undertakings meeting two of the following size requirements on a company basis:
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balance sheet total: EUR 20,000,000;
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net turnover: EUR 40,000,000;
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own funds: EUR 2,000,000.
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National and regional governments, public bodies that manage public debt, Central Banks, international and supranational institutions such as the World Bank, the IMF, the ECB, the EIB and other similar international organisations.
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Other institutional investors whose main activity is to invest in financial instruments, including entities dedicated to the securitisation of assets or other financing transactions.