"Close and factual connection", "systematic source of income" and "promotion" became tokens distinguishing the exemption stipulated in Article 2(1)(c) MiFID II.
The European Commission has supplemented Article 2(1)(c) Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments and amending Directive 2002/92/EC and Directive 2011/61/EU (MiFID II) with additional requirements for the provision of investment service in an incidental manner to be eligible for exemption from financial markets' regulation.
Article 4 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) of 25.4.2016 supplementing Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards organisational requirements and operating conditions for investment firms and defined terms for the purposes of that Directive, C(2016) 2398 final has devised some new qualifications needed.
They refer to parameters mentioned above and can be assessed as a multi-dimensional approach.