“This is like sending the dog into your neighbour’s yard!”
When Euromoney sat down with one US capital markets specialist in New York last month, his views on the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) II’s impact on research provision were unequivocal.
US research providers have long railed against Mifid II’s unbundling requirements, which could force them to register as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 in order to continue providing research to clients in Europe. US broker-dealers can only receive hard-dollar payments for research if they are also investment advisers, encumbering them with unwelcome additional fiduciary requirements.
On October 24, however, the day after our meeting, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management announced temporary relief from the 1940 Act for 30 months from Mifid II’s implementation in January next year.
This took the form of three “no action” letters, declaring that US broker-dealers may receive payments for research in hard dollars, that money managers can continue to aggregate orders for mutual funds and that money managers can continue to rely on existing safe-harbour laws when paying for research and brokerage – but only for the next 30 months.
Jumping the gun
This waiver ensures that European investors can maintain access to US research and that US broker-dealers can continue to sell it to them.