Chapter 1: Investment Services Law 2017

The Investment Services and Activities and Regulated Markets Law of 2017 (Law 87(I)/2017) is the Cypriot law that transposes MiFID II into national legislation. It is the legal foundation of the CySEC Advanced syllabus: it defines what counts as an investment service or activity, which financial instruments fall within scope, and the conditions under which firms may provide these services in and from Cyprus.

For the exam, focus on the scope of the Law and the supervisory powers it grants to the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC). CySEC may authorise and withdraw the authorisation of investment firms, conduct on-site inspections, request information, impose administrative sanctions, and refer matters for criminal prosecution. Understanding the boundary between administrative measures and criminal offences is a common source of exam questions.

You should also know the authorisation requirements for a Cypriot Investment Firm, the concept of the passport that allows an authorised firm to operate across the EEA, and the offences and penalties the Law sets out for providing investment services without authorisation or breaching its provisions. Chapter 1 carries roughly 4 of the 70 questions in the Advanced exam, but it frames the entire regulatory structure the later chapters build on, so it is worth a solid pass early in your preparation.