(a) No person shall provide, or hold himself out as providing, an investment service in or from within Malta unless he is in possession of a valid investment services licence.

(b) No body corporate, unincorporated body or association formed in accordance with or existing under the laws of Malta, shall provide or hold itself out as providing an investment service in or from within a country, territory or other place outside Malta unless it is in possession of a valid investment services licence.

The First Schedule to the ISA lists down the services which are to be considered as being investment services and thus, require a licence. Investment advice is included in such a list. There are four categories of Investment Services Licences and the provision of investment advice falls under Category 1a.

Investment advice can be defined as being the giving, offering or agreeing to give, of a personal recommendation, i.e. a recommendation presented as suitable for the person to whom it is addressed, or which is based on a consideration of the circumstances of that person, in respect of one or more transactions relating to one or more instruments, to persons in their capacity as investors, or potential investors, or as agent for an investor, or potential investor.