The two BFAA licenses are compliant to MiFID II/ESMA: Investment Advisor (IA) and Investment Information Provider (IIP) and the three BFAA licenses are compliant to IDD: Life Insurance Advisor (LIA), Non-Life Insurance Advisor (NLIA) and Investment Insurance Advisor (IIA).

The BFAA Syllabus contains a comprehensive list of the proficiency requirements for all BFAA licenses. The Syllabus is created by the BFAA Review Board, a group of Subject Matter Experts in Investments, Insurance, and Law, and approved by the BFAA Management Board. Here is the summary of MiFID II / ESMA and IDD Guidelines on Proficiency Requirements.

The affiliated companies and their employees who pass the licensing exams of the BFAA are required to comply with the Code of Ethics of the BFAA.

Only BFAA affiliates participate in the BFAA licensing program.

The BFAA license covers both the initial award of an appropriate qualification and continuous professional development.

Information on when a person’s qualifications have been recognised as suitable for financial broker operations can be found both in the lists and in the search for BFAA license holders.

A BFAA affiliate must ensure that license holders are engaged in continuous professional development (CPD)  and informs the BFAA about passed CPD hours.

The search for BFAA license holders covers information about all BFAA licenses and provides data on:

  • When was the person’s qualification recognised:
    • Indicates the date when the BFAA exam was passed and the certificate number.
    • The date of recognition of the qualification if the person has financial broker licence that was issued by Bank of Lithuania or Lithuanian Securities commission or his / her qualification has been recognised by the BFAA.
    • Note: Only persons, who held financial broker licences issued by the supervisory authority and who were employees of BFAA affiliates, have been included in the BFAA licensing system. Out of 831 persons that were on the Bank of Lithuania list on 14 June 2018, up to 200 financial brokers have been included in the BFAA licensing system.
  • Whether the BFAA license is active:
    • In order for the BFAA license be renewed, license holders must meet the annual requirement for the continuous professional development. If they do not do so, the license shall be active only until 31 March of the following year.
    • A BFAA affiliate or the BFAA makes a license holder’s license inactive if there are reasons for doing so, such as the licensee being on maternity / paternity leave, leave of absence for another reason, discharged form work duties, or is to transfer to another position.
    • Upon termination of the BFAA affiliate agreement, the licenses of all BFAA affiliate employees automatically become inactive from the date of termination of the affiliate agreement.
    • In order for the license to become active again, a licensee must meet the requirements for continuous professional development.
    • Note regarding individuals who have passed the Investment Adviser exam, but are not employees of BFAA affiliates. The BFAA cannot confirm or deny that non-BFAA affiliate’s employees have collected CPD hours. Those who passed Investment advisor exam still hold valid financial broker certificate, and it’s up to the potential employee to evaluate if they are meeting qualification requirements required by the Law on Markets in Financial Instruments.