[co-author: Rebecca Grevitt]

On October 26, 2017, the European Commission issued a list of FAQs in an attempt to clarify the obligations of EU investment firms in relation to brokerage and research services which are located in non-EU jurisdictions.

The FAQs, available here, address how European firms can maintain full compliance with MiFiD II obligations when procuring international services. They were published following concerns raised by the FCA that market participants may be unable to access U.S. research without breaching the requirements.

In addition to the guidance published by the European Commission, the SEC also issued a press release, available here, while the FCA welcomed both announcements and issued a statement explaining the implications of the announcements for the UK (available here).