Regulatory Compliance · EU · Practitioner
MiFID II Client Categorisation
A short-form course on the three MiFID II client categories — Retail, Professional, and Eligible Counterparty — the conduct-of-business obligations that attach to each, and how the rules are applied in a Cyprus investment firm. EU-wide coverage, Cyprus as the default jurisdiction.
- 2
- CPD hours
- 8
- Units
- 80%
- Pass mark
- EU
- Jurisdiction
Course specification
What you are buying
The CPD hours below are the hours printed on your certificate.
| CPD hours | 2 |
|---|---|
| Level | Practitioner |
| Units | 8 |
| Duration | 8 units · about 3 hours of study · 2 CPD hours, self-paced |
| Delivery | Online, self-paced |
| Assessment | 7-question final exam, 6 correct to pass, 12-minute timer |
| Pass mark | 80% |
| Jurisdiction | EU |
| Language | English |
| Prerequisites | None |
| Certification | Pnyx Hill Academy Certificate of Professional Achievement |
Learning outcomes
What you will be able to do
On completing this course you will be able to:
- Place client categorisation inside the MiFID II conduct-of-business framework and explain why the wrong category means the wrong rulebook.
- Distinguish Retail, Professional (per se and on request), and Eligible Counterparty, and identify the criteria that place a client in each.
- Apply the conduct-of-business protections that define the Retail regime, and identify where the Cyprus CFD product-intervention overlay adds a Retail-only floor.
- Run the Retail-to-Professional opt-up procedure: the two-out-of-three quantitative test, the qualitative expertise assessment, the warning and consent letters, and the eight-item opt-up file.
- Categorise Professional per se clients — the entity types, the large-undertaking size test, and the evidence expected on file.
- Handle the Eligible Counterparty regime under Article 30 — in-scope services, the express confirmation an elective ECP must give, and the conduct-of-business rules that continue to apply.
- Meet the ongoing obligations under Article 45 of the Delegated Regulation and Annex II of MiFID II — periodic review, event-driven re-categorisation, client-initiated opt-down, and the record-keeping standard.
- Identify a categorisation error in a client file and set out what the firm needs to change, on the file and in its procedure, to correct it.
Curriculum
8 units, start to certificate
The case study comes before the final exam, so you apply the rules before you are tested on them.
M0 Welcome Video
A short-form course on the three MiFID II client categories — Retail, Professional, and Eligible Counterparty — the conduct-of-business obligations that attach to each, and how the rules are applied in a Cyprus investment firm. EU-wide coverage, Cyprus as the default jurisdiction.
About 15 minutes of study time
M1 Framework and the three categories Video · Quiz
Under MiFID II, the client's category — Retail, Professional, or Eligible Counterparty — determines the conduct-of-business obligations the firm owes that client. This module covers the origin of the framework, the definitions in Annex II of the Directive, and how the current Cyprus investment services law transposes them.
About 23 minutes of study time
M2 Retail and the opt-up gateway Video · Quiz
Retail is the default category under MiFID II, and the conduct-of-business regime is calibrated for it. This module covers the protections that apply to Retail clients, the Cyprus CFD product-intervention measures that sit on top of the MiFID II baseline, and the procedural requirements a firm must satisfy before treating a Retail client as Professional on request.
About 23 minutes of study time
M3 Professional per se and on request Video · Quiz
Professional status arises in two ways under Annex II of MiFID II: automatically for the entities listed in Section I (per se), or through an evidenced opt-up procedure for clients that meet the criteria in Section II (on request).
About 28 minutes of study time
M4 Eligible Counterparties and Article 30 Video · Quiz
Eligible Counterparty status is the narrowest category under MiFID II — it applies only to a defined set of entities, only for three services (reception and transmission of orders, execution of orders on behalf of clients, and dealing on own account), and disapplies most of the conduct-of-business regime.
About 28 minutes of study time
M5 Ongoing obligations and re-categorisation Video · Quiz
Client categorisation is a continuing obligation, not an onboarding event. Article 45 of the MiFID II Delegated Regulation and Annex II of MiFID II impose four ongoing duties on the firm: to inform the client, to keep the categorisation up to date, to monitor for changes, and to re-categorise when the client no longer meets the applicable criteria.
About 24 minutes of study time
Case The annual file refresh Case study · Video
This case study follows an illustrative Cyprus investment firm through its annual categorisation refresh. Six client files, six different problems, and one new team member who has to decide what to do with each of them.
- The firm and the task A client book and a refresh procedure.
- The corporate files A shipping group and a family office.
- The private client file An opt-up that looked complete.
- During the year A request, a notice and a return.
About 40 minutes of study time
Exam Final Exam · 7 questions · 12 minutes · 6 to pass 7 questions · 6 to pass
About 12 minutes of study time
Your instructor
Learn from an experienced industry practitioner
Instructor of record
Yiannos Ashiotis
- CPA
- CAMS
- CFSA
- MCSI
- CySEC AML-Certified
- CySEC Advanced-Certified
Co-Founder and Chair of the Board of Pnyx Hill. Over two decades advising banks, investment firms, fintechs, digital-asset platforms and regulators on AML/CFT, licensing and governance. Chairman of Revolut Digital Assets Europe and Senior Independent Non-Executive Director at StoneX Europe; represents Cyprus at the ISO committees on financial services, corporate governance and green finance.
Instructor of record means he sets the content, exam and certification standard for every Pnyx Hill Academy course, and the certificate is issued on his authority.
Assessment and certification
A certificate that means something
The final exam pass mark for this course is 80%, rounded up to a whole question: 6 of 7 correct. There is no lower tier and no participation certificate.
The minimum on the final exam, rounded up to a whole question. Module quizzes are practice and are not graded, but each must be worked through to complete its module.
Sat online when you are ready; the timer is 12 minutes. You can retake it at no extra charge.
Issued as a PDF the moment the course completes, with your name and the date.
Every certificate carries a unique ID. Anyone you show it to, such as your employer or a supervisor during an inspection, can check it is genuine at pnyxhill.academy/verify-certificate.
CySEC continuing professional development
Built for your CySEC CPD record
This course is designed as continuing professional development under paragraph 17(2)(a) of the CySEC Certification Directive (R.A.D. 44/2019, as amended), for persons on the CySEC public registers of certified persons.
| Total duration | About 3 hours of study, excluding breaks, certified as 2 CPD hours |
|---|---|
| Laws covered |
|
| Proof of completion | Every unit must be completed in full, and the course ends with a final exam at 80%. The certificate is issued only on a pass. |
| Trainer | Yiannos Ashiotis, Instructor of record |
Download the CPD evidence pack (PDF) Course outline, laws covered, duration, assessment and trainer profile — what CySEC asks certified persons to keep for five years, alongside the certificate.
CySEC does not approve CPD providers or courses, and Pnyx Hill Academy is not approved by CySEC. Certified persons remain responsible for confirming that a course meets their own CPD requirements. How CySEC CPD works
Who it is for
Built for the desks these rules bind
This course is for practitioners, compliance and risk professionals deepening their knowledge, board and senior-management members seeking a more detailed understanding, and anyone interested in this important aspect of investment-services regulation.
No prior study is required.
Questions
Before you enrol
How long will the course take me?
The course carries 2 CPD hours, which is the guided learning time across the videos, the written notes, the module quizzes, the case study and the exam. It is self-paced, so you can take it in one sitting or over several weeks.
Can I skip ahead through the videos?
No. A unit with video only completes once each video has actually been watched through — dragging the scrubber forward does not count — and each module quiz has to be worked through as well. That is what lets us put CPD hours on the certificate and stand behind them.
Who presents the videos?
Elena, an AI-generated presenter. The lessons are scripted, and the course content written and checked, by the instructor of record, Yiannos Ashiotis. Every video has English captions.
What happens if I fail the exam?
You can sit it again. There is no extra charge and no limit on attempts.
How do I get the certificate?
It is emailed to you as a PDF, attached, within minutes of the course completing. It carries your name, the course title, the 2 CPD hours and the date.
Can my firm enrol a team?
Yes. Choose "Enrol a team", pick the number of learners and name them at checkout. Each learner gets their own login and their own certificate. For more than 50 learners, a dedicated firm branch with completion reporting, or payment by invoice, talk to us.
Enrol in MiFID II Client Categorisation
€ 70.00 for 2 CPD hours. Final exam pass mark 80%. Certificate when you pass.