To summarise, a person who can be classified as a professional client or eligible counterparty – under and in accordance with Directive 2014/65/EU of 15 May 2014 as amended (i.e. MiFID II) – is:
(a) a credit institution;
(b) an investment firm;
(c) any other authorised or regulated financial institution;
(d) an insurance company;
(e) a collective investment scheme or the management company of such a scheme;
(f) a pension fund or the management company of a pension fund;
(g) a commodity or commodity derivatives dealer;
(h) a Local;
(i) any other institutional investor;
(2) a large undertaking that meets two of the following size requirements on a company basis: (i) a balance sheet total of EUR 20,000,000; (ii) an annual net turnover of EUR 40,000,000; (iii) owns funds of EUR 2,000,000;
(3) a national or regional government, a public body that manages public debt, a central bank, an international or supranational institution (such as the World Bank, the IMF, the ECB, the EIB) or another similar international organisation;
(4) other institutional investors whose main activity is to invest in financial instruments, including entities dedicated to the securitisation of assets or other financing transactions;
(5) other clients – including public sector bodies, local public authorities, municipalities and private individual investors – who expressly ask to be treated as a professional client and meet two of the following criteria shall be satisfied: (i) the client has carried out transactions, in significant size, on the relevant market at an average frequency of 10 per quarter over the previous four quarters, (ii) the size of the client’s financial instrument portfolio, defined as including cash deposits and financial instruments exceeds EUR 500,000, (iii) the client works or has worked in the financial sector for at least one year in a professional position.
If you are in doubt as to what type of customer you are you should consult your financial adviser.