HM Treasury has made the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) (Amendment) Order 2025. Signed on 17 November 2025 and laid before Parliament on 19 November 2025, the instrument updates the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 and makes linked changes to UK MiFIR reporting provisions.
Commencement is staged. Article 1 and article 2(d) take effect on 10 December 2025 to enable Financial Conduct Authority rulemaking. All remaining provisions commence on 1 January 2027, providing a clear transition window before the new tests apply in practice across the United Kingdom.
The Order revises the exclusion in paragraph 1(k) of Part 1 of Schedule 3 to the RAO for persons dealing on own account or providing investment services in commodity derivatives, emission allowances and derivatives. Instead of relying solely on the ancillary activity test, exclusion from the definition of “investment firm” may now be met through either of two routes introduced via new paragraph 1A.
Under paragraph 1A(a), an activity qualifies where it is ancillary to the person’s main business when assessed on a group basis, with criteria to be determined by FCA rules. Alternatively, under paragraph 1A(b), an activity qualifies if it is below an annual threshold to be specified by the FCA. Paragraph 2 is adjusted to reflect group-level assessment and the new threshold route.
A new paragraph 2A confers rulemaking powers on the FCA to specify the criteria for establishing when an activity is ancillary on a group basis and to set the annual threshold, including how to determine whether an activity falls below it. Early commencement on 10 December 2025 allows the FCA to consult and finalise rules ahead of the 1 January 2027 go‑live.
Regulation 47(1)(b) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Markets in Financial Instruments) Regulations 2017 is amended so firms report to the FCA the basis on which they consider an activity to be ancillary under criteria made under paragraph 2A(a) or to be below the annual threshold under paragraph 2A(b). The FCA may direct the manner of such reporting.
Consequential amendments remove references in the RAO to Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/592 from the definitions of “investment firm”, “qualifying credit institution” and paragraph (1A). This aligns the RAO with the UK’s post‑FSMA 2023 framework and ends reliance on the EU technical standard for the ancillary test.
From 1 January 2027 the Order supersedes EU‑derived provisions that will be revoked under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 and its commencement regulations: paragraph 19 of Schedule 3 to Regulation (EU) No 600/2014 (MiFIR), Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/592, and RAO article 72J(1)(a) and (b) with related definitions. The exclusion regime will then rest entirely on domestic legislation and FCA rules.
The revised exclusion remains targeted at persons whose commodity derivative or emission allowance activity is ancillary to a wider main business at group level, or whose activity stays beneath the FCA‑set annual threshold once specified. The territorial extent is England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
No impact assessment accompanies the instrument, with the Treasury indicating no, or no significant, impact is expected on the private, voluntary or public sector. The Order is made under sections 22 and 428 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and paragraph 25 of Schedule 2, and is signed by Christian Wakeford and Gen Kitchen as two of the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury.