Brexit & Financial Services: Preparing for the End of the Transition Period
From 1 August 2024, the UK changed its rules on how payments are made for investment research. UK firms may now use bundled payments for third-party research and trading commissions, subject to certain requirements being...more
In our previous alert, Paying for Buy-Side Investment Research: Will the FCA’s Third Way Ease the US-UK Divide?, we discussed the consultation issued by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) on proposed rules on payment...more
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is planning to lift its ban on asset managers making joint or ‘bundled’ payments to broker-dealers for third-party investment research and execution services. The change is being...more
Expiration of SEC Staff’s No Action Letters Providing Relief to Broker-Dealers Regarding MiFID II Research Requirements - On July 3, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) let expire a long-standing...more
The issue of how firms should pay for investment research continues to be a controversial topic in the financial markets. The U.S. has maintained the approach it adopted before the mid-2000s, which is to permit investment...more
The U.K. Investment Research Review call for evidence was published on April 3, 2023. Relevant background to these issues is set out in our recent client note, “MiFID II: An Update on the Rules for Unbundling of Research,” in...more
The issue of how investment research should be paid for by investors is controversial, long-standing and seemingly perennially the subject of legislative iterations, failure and unintended consequence and more reform. Before...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a consultation paper on proposed guidance on the regulatory perimeter for multilateral trading facilities and on possible future changes to smaller trading venues' regulatory...more
The EU Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (“MiFID II”), which came into effect on January 3, 2018, raised concerns that U.S. broker-dealers that would receive “hard dollars” for research from firms subject to MiFID...more
The staff of the US Securities and Exchange Commission division of Investment Management announced that it would allow its October 26, 2017 no-action letter to SIFMA to expire on July 23, 2023—raising questions about the...more
BROKER-DEALER - SEC Proposes to Modernize Infrastructure for NMS Securities Market Data - On February 14, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed to modernize the infrastructure for the collection,...more
On October 26, 2017, the SEC staff issued a no-action letter providing relief to broker-dealers that provide research that constitutes “investment advice” under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to investment managers...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Expands Transparency Initiative Related to OTC Equity Trading Volume - The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) previously announced an expansion to its ongoing transparency initiative...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has welcomed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s extension of no-action relief addressing a potential conflict between U.S. regulation and the inducements and research provisions...more
The extension benefits market participants in the US seeking to comply with EU MiFID II research rules, but significant issues remain. Key Points: ..The no-action relief has been extended for three additional years from...more
On November 4, 2019, the Office of the Chief Counsel of the SEC's Division of Investment Management extended the temporary no-action relief from compliance with the registration and other provisions of the Investment Advisers...more
The U.S. SEC’s Division of Investment Management (Staff) has extended, until July 3, 2023, its 2017 temporary no-action letter (2017 NAL) regarding the “investment adviser” status of certain broker-dealers that accept cash...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Issues Guidance on FOCUS Reporting for Operating Leases - On March 19, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) released Regulatory Notice 19-08 to provide guidance to members for...more
Cboe Withdraws and Then Submits a Proposed Rulemaking for a Bitcoin ETF - On January 22, 2019, Cboe BZX Exchange (Cboe) withdrew its proposed rulemaking with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Had the...more
BROKER-DEALER - SEC Approves New Supplement to Options Disclosure Document - On November 9, the Securities and Exchange Commission approved a new supplement (Supplement) to the Characteristics & Risks of Standardized...more
In this week's newsletter, we provide a snapshot of the principal U.S., European and global financial regulatory developments of interest to banks, investment firms, broker-dealers, market infrastructure providers, asset...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Seeks Comment on Fintech Innovation in Broker-Dealer Industry - On July 30, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) issued a Special Notice requesting comment on how to continue to...more
BROKER-DEALER - FINRA Seeks Comment on Rule Proposal Regarding High-Risk Brokers - On May 30, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority published Regulatory Notice 18-16, which seeks comment on proposed rule...more
On April 18, 2018, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) took the long-awaited step of proposing rules, interpretations and guidance (the “Proposed Rules”) that would seek to enhance and clarify the standards of...more
BROKER-DEALER - Nasdaq Has Proposed a New Rule Change To Modify Its System of Volume-Based Credits - The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq) has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission a proposed rule change to...more