Professional client - A professional client is one of the following:

(1) an entity required to be authorised or regulated to operate in the financial markets. The following list includes all authorised entities carrying out the characteristic activities of the entities mentioned, whether authorised by an EEA State or a third country and whether or not authorised by reference to a directive:

(a) a credit institution;
(b) an investment firm;
(c) any other authorised or regulated financial institution;
(d) an insurance company;
(e) a collective investment scheme or the management company of such a scheme;
(f) a pension fund or the management company of a pension fund;
(g) a commodity or commodity derivatives dealer;
(h) a local;
(i) any other institutional investor.

(2) in relation to MiFID or equivalent third country business, a large undertaking, meeting two of the following size requirements on a company basis:

(a) balance sheet total of EUR 20,000,000;
(b) net turnover of EUR 40,000,000;
(c) own funds of EUR 2,000,000.

(3) in relation to business that is neither MiFID or equivalent third country business, a large undertaking meeting either of the following conditions:

(a) a body corporate (including a limited liability partnership) which has (or any of whose holding companies or subsidiaries has) called up share capital of at least £10 million (or its equivalent in any other currency at the relevant time);
(b) a large undertaking that meets (or any of whose holding companies or subsidiaries meets) two of the following tests: (i) a balance sheet total of EUR 12,500,000; (ii) a net turnover of EUR 25,000,000; (iii) an average number of employees during the year of 250;

(4) a national or regional government, a public body that manages public debt, a central bank, an international or supranational institution (such as the World Bank, the IMF, the ECP, the EIB) or another similar international organisation.

(5) another institutional investor whose main activity is to invest in financial instruments (in relation to the firm's MiFID or equivalent third country business) or designated investments (in relation to the firm's other business). This includes entities dedicated to the securitisation of assets or other financing transactions.

Qualified Investor

A qualified investor is one of the following:

(a) State body
(b) Bank
(c) Financial institution
(d) Fund
(e) Insurance company
(f) Fund manager
(g) Investment manager

Retail client

A retail client is a client organisation or individual who cannot meet one of the professional client criteria.