CSSF Circular 17/670 On The Assessment Of Knowledge And Competence

On 13 October, the CSSF published Circular 17/670 on the assessment of knowledge and competence in the framework of the MiFID II Directive. This circular aims, on the one hand, at communicating the minimum criteria to be taken into account when providing the external training foreseen by CSSF Circular 17/665, which implements the ESMA Guidelines on the assessment of knowledge and competence; on the other hand, at providing further details on the application file to be submitted by the organizations wishing to offer this training.

As highlighted in Circular 17/665 issued by the Regulator on 31 July 2017, investment firms should ensure that personnel providing investment advice or information on financial instruments, has the necessary knowledge and competence to comply with MiFID II requirements. In doing so, investment firms could verify the acquisition of knowledge and competence either internally, through tailor-made training program addressed to their personnel, or externally, allowing the staff to attend external trainings organized by a recognized entity. In both cases, the CSSF will attest the adequacy of the training in accordance with the requirements established by the Circular 17/665.

Organizations intending to offer external trainings and therefore, being registered on the list published on the Regulator's website, should submit their application file to the CSSF.

The detailed content of the training program should cover the topics listed in the Circular 17/665 and must be disclosed in the application file. In addition, the file should include a comparison table in order to allow the CSSF to verify whether each of the required minimum competencies are covered.

Trainees could attend only one part of the program of the external training, the remaining topics being covered internally. The organization providing the training should, in this respect, offer a certain degree of flexibility in the way trainings are delivered. It should be noted, nevertheless, that the CSSF will only accept application files offering a full training program even if it can be divided into several modules.

The external training must have a total duration of at least 60 hours and the allocation of time (in hours) per module must be disclosed in the application file. Such time allocation must reflect the fact that the level and the intensity of knowledge...