On May 30, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a new Questions and Answers document (Q&A) on the implementation of the EU Market Abuse Regulation (MAR.) The Q&A is aimed to assist common supervisory approaches for EU regulators in the practical implementation of MAR.

The Q&A contains only one question so far, which is related to the scope of obligations to detect and report market abuse under Article 16(2) of MAR. The question asks if the obligations of Article 16(2) apply only to Markets in Financial Instrument Directive (MiFID) firms, or if the obligations also include UCITS management companies, alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) and other firms professionally trading on their own account. ESMA confirms in the Q&A that Article 16(2) of MAR does not just apply to MiFID firms. ESMA notes that “persons professionally arranging or executing transactions” under Article 16(2), includes and applies to buy-side firms (such as AIFMs and UCITS managers), and firms trading on their own account (i.e., proprietary traders).

A copy of the Q&A is available here.

ESMA’s accompanying press release is available here.