What type of client is being communicated to – retail, professional or eligible counterparty?
Most provisions apply to communications addressed to retail clients; fewer apply to those addressed to professional clients and fewer still to those addressed to eligible counterparties. More information on which rules apply to which types of client can be found below, and the usual client categorisation rules apply. As a result, firms will not need to notify recipients of financial promotions (‘clients’ within the meaning of COBS 3.2.1R(3)) of their client categorisation, or record their categorisation, unless the recipients are also ‘clients’ within the meaning of COBS 3.2.1R(1), (2) or (4). Unless the financial promotion relates to MiFID or equivalent third country business, the “non-MiFID” client categorisations are relevant.
