1. Member States shall require management companies to act in the best interests of the UCITS they manage when executing decisions to deal on behalf of the managed UCITS in the context of the management of their portfolios.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure that management companies take all reasonable steps to obtain the best possible result for the UCITS, taking into account price, costs, speed, likelihood of execution and settlement, order size and nature, or any other consideration relevant to the execution of the order. The relative importance of such factors shall be determined by reference to the following criteria:

(a) the objectives, investment policy and risks specific to the UCITS, as indicated in the prospectus or as the case may be in the fund rules or articles of association of the UCITS;

(b) the characteristics of the order;

(c) the characteristics of the financial instruments that are the subject of that order;

(d) the characteristics of the execution venues to which that order can be directed.

3. Member States shall require management companies to establish and implement effective arrangements for complying with the obligation referred to in paragraph 2. In particular, management companies shall establish and implement a policy to allow them to obtain, for UCITS orders, the best possible result in accordance with paragraph 2.