U.S. firms face MiFID II research unbundling’s eternal conundrum

By Hugo Bromley October 23, 2019, Practice Insight from IFLR U.S. firms will have to decide how to respond to increased demand for research unbundling in the coming months but are unlikely to move directly to a P+L [profit...

Clearing reforms set to ‘disrupt’ asset management

By Eva Szalay October 21, 2019, Financial Times Global regulators might have delayed completion of a major reform of derivatives trading rules by a year, but currency markets are already changing in anticipation. One aspect of the reform that...

TISA Assesses Vendors for MiFID II Reporting Solution

By Josephine Gallagher October 16, 2019, Waters Technology A not-for-profit industry body tasked with easing regulatory reporting requirements is currently selecting a vendor to build a centralized reporting platform. The Investing and Savings Alliance (TISA) will announce by November...

ICMA Wants E.U. Consolidated Tape For Bonds

By Shanny Basar October 17, 2019, Markets Media The International Capital Market Association, a trade body, said a low or minimal cost consolidated tape of raw transaction data would benefit the cash bond market in the European Union. In...

ESMA rebukes FCA for poor handling of derivatives data under EMIR

By Hayley McDowell October 17, 2019, The Trade The U.K.’s financial watchdog has fallen behind its E.U. counterparts when it comes to quality controls and analysis of vital derivatives data under EMIR, according to the European Securities Markets Authority...

MiFID II in September: All Eyes on Auctions

By Tim Cave, TABB Group Originally published on the TABB Forum While European equities volumes rebounded somewhat in September, overall trading activity remained below last year’s pace. But closing auctions saw record participation. TABB Group’s Tim Cave looks at...

FCA assures ‘pragmatic approach’ to MiFID & EMIR reporting supervision as Brexit looms

By Hayley McDowell October 14, 2019, The Trade The U.K. financial watchdog has said it will take a ‘pragmatic’ approach to the supervision of MiFID transaction reporting and EMIR trade reporting requirements upon the advent of Brexit. In a...

Algo trading innovations stoke fear despite increased popularity

By Emma Olsson October 11, 2019, bobsguide Once feared by traders and regulators alike, attitudes towards algorithmic trading have changed. The development of more sophisticated algorithms, advances in artificial intelligence (AI), and an increasingly regulated market have shifted perspectives...

Analyst numbers and company research hit by E.U. rule change: survey

By Joice Alves October 14, 2019, Reuters Fewer analysts are covering British companies and the quality of their reports has declined since the introduction of European Union regulations aimed at increasing transparency in financial markets, according to a survey...

More investors wanting in on Europe-domiciled ETFs

By Paulina Pielichata October 14, 2019, Pensions&Investments A need for greater flexibility given market uncertainty, increased volatility and intensifying regulatory scrutiny is creating demand for ETFs from European investors. Assets in European Union-domiciled ETFs grew to €741 billion ($842...

EC official: supervisors must manage Brexit trading disruption

By Philip Alexander October 7, 2019, Risk A European Commission official has put the onus on supervisors to deal with any trading disruptions in the event of a no-deal Brexit – shutting down hopes of a legislative fix. Almoro...

ESMA considers expansion of MAR to include spot FX market

By Hayley McDowell October 3, 2019, The Trade European Union authorities are considering a move to bring foreign exchange spot trading in scope of the region’s Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). As part of a review of the regulatory framework,...

The rise of independent research outfits

By Scott Langley October 3, 2019, MoneyWeek Call it the sell-side’s Project Fear. Early 2018 saw the introduction of the E.U.’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II). Thousands of pages of new rules governing the financial sector...

Research Unbundling a ‘Win-Win’ For Best Execution

By Shanny Basar October 7, 2019, Markets Media Rebecca Healey, global head of market structure at institutional liquidity pool Liquidnet, said research unbundling in the European Union has led to a changing role for execution as part of the...

ETF Insight: Structural issues will prevent Europe from ever matching U.S. ETF assets

By Tom Eckett October 7, ETF Stream Industry commentators have always been bullish about the prospects for ETF in Europe, however, there remain a number of structural issues that are preventing the vehicle from taking off in quite same...

ESMA faces busy investor protection agenda

By James Langton October 1, 2019, Investment Executive Europe’s securities regulator is preparing to take on greater investor protection responsibilities in the year ahead. The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), today published its policy agenda for 2020, which...

ESMA calls for evidence on CFD and binary option restrictions

September 30, 2019, GlobalCapital The European Securities and Markets Authority has issued a call for evidence on the effects of product intervention measures regarding CFDs and binary options on market participants and clients. On Monday, ESMA also said it...

German government steps up criticism of MiFID II

By Alex Rolandi September 26, 2019, Funds Europe The wide-reaching MiFID II directive has come under further criticism from Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF). At a conference in Brussels on Thursday, the ministry expressed its commitment to correcting...

How Europe’s pension sectors are preparing for Brexit

September 27, 2019, IPE With just over a month to go until the U.K. exits the European Union – at least, according to the government’s official plan at the time of writing – time is running out for organizations...

EMIR data can inform derivs trading strategies – ECB

By James Thursfield September 27, 2019, Global Investor Group Researchers at The European Central Bank (ECB) have outlined how European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) data can be used to inform derivatives trading strategies in futures markets and Euro market...

Asset managers wary of potential new regulatory reporting regime

By Jonathan Watkins September 19, 2019, The Trade Regulatory efforts to review the current regulatory reporting framework has European asset managers worried that it would result in potentially increased costs and a greater operational burden. The next European Commission...

FCA finds potential competition issues in MiFID II

By Rachel Mortimer September 20, 2019, FT Adviser The Financial Conduct Authority has acknowledged there may be “potential negative effects” on competition in the investment market as a result of the research unbundling rules introduced under MiFID II. MiFID...

FCA attacked by research houses over MiFID II reforms

By Siobhan Riding and Chris Flood September 19, 2019, Financial Times The Financial Conduct Authority has shelved its probe into unfair competition in the investment research market, drawing the ire of independent research houses which complain that they have...

PIMFA expresses concerns about complexity of MiFID costs and charges

By Jenna Lomax September 18, 2019, Asset Servicing Times The second Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) should not provide any more detailed rules on call for evidence on inducements, costs and charges, according to the Personal Investment...

FCA urges advisers to record client meetings

By Rachel Addison September 19, 2019, FT Adviser The Financial Conduct Authority has urged advisers to consider recording client meetings to defend themselves against future complaints. The regulator said while recording client interactions was not a requirement under its...

FCA finds research unbundling has saved equity investors £70 million under MiFID II

By John Brazier September 19, 2019, The Trade The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has released the findings of its survey on the effects of research unbundling on the U.K. financial services industry, most notably a cost saving of £70...

Managers hoping regulators tackle problems with MiFID II

By Paulina Pielchata September 16, 2019, Pensions&Investments Money managers and investment associations across Europe are weighing in on how MiFID II should be revised when it comes up for its first review in March, saying the regulation has fallen...

WFE warns ESMA of “irreparable damage” of market data price controls

September 10, 2019, Securities Finance Monitor The World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), the global industry group for exchanges and CCPs, has published a letter in response to the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) consultation paper on prices for...

Europe’s fragmented equity markets need a tape of record

By Phillip Stafford September 12, 2019, Financial Times A good way to enliven a conversation with a top banker, fund manager or trader is to ask if they are happy with the cost of their market data: core information...

ETF Insight: Consolidated tape crucial to next stage of ETF growth in Europe

By Tom Eckett September 16, 2019, ETF Insight ETF liquidity visibility is improving all the time in Europe, however, investors are still unable to see the full liquidity picture on the ETFs they invest in. This is playing a...