BaFin MaComp Circular (BT 3, BT 5 & BT 13): German Inducements, Cost Info & Target Markets

In Germany, general EU MiFID II Level 2 regulations are enforced through BaFin's exhaustive administrative circular *MaComp (Mindestanforderungen an die Compliance-Funktion und weitere Verhaltens-, Organisations- und Transparenzpflichten, Circular 05/2018 WA as continuously updated through 2025/2026). Divided into a General Part (AT) on Compliance Officer independence and 13+ Special Parts (BT 1 to BT 13*), MaComp serves as the literal grading checklist used by certified public accountants during Germany's mandatory annual § 89 WpHG external conduct audit—binding every German WpIG firm, universal bank, and German Article 35 branch!

Within our national conduct interventions guide and the national supervision hub, neo-brokers, ETF savings-plan (Sparplan) apps, and structured-certificate distributors face intense BaFin mystery-shopping sweeps across three specific MaComp modules: BT 3 (Cost & Charges Transparency), BT 5 (Product Governance & Sustainability Preferences), and *§ 70 WpHG / BT 10–13 (Inducements, Zuwendungen, and PFOF Phase-Out)*.

Core MaComp Modules Audited Annually Under § 89 WpHG#

Germany's Unique Dual Inducement Ledgers (Zuwendungs- und Verwendungsverzeichnis)#

Whereas several EU jurisdictions review third-party trailer fees qualitatively, *§ 6 WpDVerOV (Wertpapierdienstleistungs-Verhaltens- und -Organisationsverordnung)* and MaComp impose a dollar-for-dollar accounting ledger requirement on German brokers and wealth distributors (such as Aktien AG, ABT AG, or German branches of UniCredit Bank Austria):

1. *Inducement Receipt Ledger (Zuwendungsverzeichnis): Itemizes every euro of mutual-fund trailer commissions (Bestandsprovisionen*), structured-note placement rebates, or ETF marketing subsidies received from third-party issuers; AND
2. *Quality-Enhancement Application Ledger (Verwendungsverzeichnis): Proves quantitatively how those exact inducement funds were spent on additional or higher-level services proportional to the level of inducements received* under § 6(2) WpDVerOV (e.g., wide open-architecture product universes, free digital portfolio analytics, extended investor education tools—never ordinary statutory compliance or executive dividends!).

Transition Away From German Payment for Order Flow (MiFIR Art. 39a Sunset: 30 June 2026)#

Germany was historically the epicenter of European Payment for Order Flow (PFOF), with zero-commission neo-brokers collecting EUR 1.50 to EUR 4.00 per retail order routed to regional market-maker venues (Tradegate, LS Exchange, Gettex). Under Regulation (EU) 2024/791 (MiFIR Review) Article 39a, EU lawmakers enacted a blanket PFOF prohibition while granting member states like Germany that permitted PFOF prior to March 2024 a strict grandfathering deadline expiring on June 30, 2026—forcing German brokers to pivot toward transparent explicit EUR 1 ticket fees, proprietary Systematic Internaliser/exchange integration (such as Tradegate becoming a full regulated exchange), or compliant issuer product-distribution agreements audited under MaComp!

Quantitative MaComp BT 3 Ex-Ante Cost & Return-Drag Calculation#

Under MaComp BT 3 and BaFin's supervisory guidance on Ex-ante-Kostenausweise, brokers must display total entry, ongoing, and exit costs—including embedded FX conversion markups and third-party inducements—both in absolute EUR and as percentage reduction in yield (RIY) prior to order execution:

MaComp BT 5 Sustainability Preferences in Advisory Suitability Reports#

Since August 2022—and tightened under ESMA's 2023/2024 Product Governance & Suitability updates incorporated into MaComp BT 5 and BT 7—German investment advisers and digital robo-advisers must query every client's three-category ESG sustainability preferences (minimum Taxonomy-aligned %, minimum SFDR sustainable investment %, or consideration of Principal Adverse Impacts / PAIs) after assessing financial risk tolerance, and document any client-initiated adaptation (Anpassung der Nachhaltigkeitspräferenzen) cleanly inside the mandatory *§ 64(4) WpHG Suitability Statement (Geeignetheitserklärung)*!