ESMA_QA_2790
Status: ✅ Answer Published
Link to ESMA Q&A tool: https://www.esma.europa.eu/publications-data/questions-answers/2790
Regulatory Context
Regulation : MIF2
Level 1 Regulation: Directive 2014/65/EU - Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II)
Level 2 Regulation: Regulation 2017/565 - MiFID II Delegated Regulation
Level 3 Regulation: ESMA/2015/1886 - Guidelines - Assessment of knowledge and competence (MiFID)
Topic: Suitability
Subject Matter: “Under supervision” – responsibility, role awareness, real-time supervision, sign-off / “Under supervision” in investment advice: responsibility, role assignment and supervisory sign-off
Question
Submission Date: 26 February 2026
I would like to request a general clarification on the interpretation of the ESMA Guidelines ESMA/2015/1886 (rev.) regarding “under supervision” in the context of investment advice, in particular paragraphs 4(j), 19 and 20(d)–(g).
In practice, investment firms use supervision/tandem models in which a supervised staff member communicates the personal recommendation to the client, while a qualified/experienced person performs supervision and carries out documentation/approval steps.
Against this background, I kindly request clarification on the following points:
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Real-time supervision vs. ex post review Do the Guidelines typically require that, for “under supervision”, the supervisor is able to intervene in real time (e.g. by attending, listening-in/reading along, and having an immediate stop-go capability), or can an exclusively ex post review/approval be sufficient?
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“Under the responsibility of” / “same responsibility” How should the requirement be understood that the activity is performed “under the responsibility of” a qualified/experienced person (para. 4(j)) and that the supervisor assumes “the same responsibility” (para. 20(g))? Which organisational minimum features are typically expected where the supervised staff member communicates the personal recommendation to the client?
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Explicit assignment and awareness of the supervisory role Does “under supervision” require that the supervisory role is explicitly assigned and that both the supervised staff member and the supervisor are aware of their respective role, responsibilities and limits?
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Conscious assumption of responsibility / sign-off Is the signing of the suitability statement by the supervisor mentioned in para. 20(g) to be understood as a standard expectation (or, in digital processes, a functional equivalent such as a documented review/approval/sign-off)? Is the mere presence of a qualified person without a conscious assumption of responsibility sufficient?
ESMA Answer
Answer Date: 31-03-2026
Dear Sir, Thank you for contacting ESMA. The selection of questions to be developed into policy Q&As is done according to a number of criteria, which include the following:
Type of stakeholder: Questions received from investors’ and regulated firms’ associations, will be prioritised over questions from individual firms. Level of public attention: Topics receiving a higher number of questions will have a higher priority. Relevance of the issue: Questions addressing matters with high market impact, important legal risks and significant cross-border effects will have a higher priority.
We would like to inform you that your suggested questions do not appear to be amongst the ones considered of higher priority, at least at this stage. This means that, in view of the number of questions received by ESMA, we are unable to provide you with any further feedback to your question, for the moment. We thank you for your input and invite you to monitor our website where we will continue to publish further Q&As, and other forms of guidance, with the purpose of ensuring the consistent and effective day-to-day application of Union law within ESMA’s remit. Kind regards, ESMA
This document was automatically extracted from the ESMA EMIR Q&A database.