Brexit & Financial Services: Preparing for the End of the Transition Period
Many governments are grappling with the question of how to regulate artificial intelligence to ensure it is adopted safely and used responsibly without hampering innovation. Governments have generally indicated similar...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) recently published its first formal guidance on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the provision of retail investment services. The guidance outlines AI’s potential...more
This client memorandum concerns a highly technical point of considerable practical importance. It challenges aspects of the received wisdom that, for post-Brexit cross-border investment business conducted from the U.K....more
With the Regulation on Artificial Intelligence (the "AI Act") entering into force in due course, following its publication in the Official Journal of the EU, there has been an increasing focus of supervisory bodies to provide...more
During his remarks at a meeting of the International Bar Association’s Asset Management Industry Conference on Global Challenges and Opportunities in Boston, Commissioner Uyeda commented on investment research and the...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has opened a consultation setting out proposals for allowing firms to use joint (bundled) payments for third-party research and execution services, subject to certain requirements being...more
On March 8, 2024, legislation amending the EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The amending Directive and amending Regulation aim to...more
In July 2021, HM Treasury published the Wholesale Markets Review consultation (WMR), which included proposals to reform the U.K.’s secondary markets framework. There was broad support for reforms to (a) modify the ancillary...more
On 8 March 2024, the final consolidated revised Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) ((EU) 2024/791) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) (Directive (EU) 2024/790) texts were published in...more
The European Securities and Markets Authority has published two consultation papers on proposed guidelines under the EU Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation, one on reverse solicitation and the other on the classification of...more
The Council of the European Union has confirmed that it has adopted changes to EU trading rules in the Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (“MiFIR”) and the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (“MiFID II”)...more
Of particular note this week in the EU, the Council adopted the legislative package to strengthen market data transparency which includes changes to the EU’s trading rules on market data, payment for order flow and commodity...more
On January 29, 2024, the Data Reporting Services Regulations 2024 (SI 2024/107) were made. The Data Reporting Services Regulations 2024 will enter into force on the same day that the Data Reporting Services Regulations 2017...more
Welcome to the Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation. Key developments in December 2023: 21 December - UK / Swiss Regulatory...more
Fund Tokenisation: The Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published a press release announcing that it has joined the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Project Guardian, a collaborative initiative with the financial industry...more
Since the beginning of the Brexit transition period, developments in both the UK and EU have impacted the MiFID rules in various ways. In the UK, there have been changes under the EUWA on-shoring process; “quick-fix”...more
31 July - ESG: The European Commission adopted a Commission Delegated Regulation, setting out the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (“ESRS”), together with a Q&A (see press release). The ESRS specify...more
The report and recommendations of the UK Investment Research Review were published on July 10, 2023. The recommendations have been accepted by the government and the Financial Conduct Authority has committed to prioritizing...more
In July 2023, the Investment Research Review (the Review) commissioned by the UK government published its findings into investment research in UK capital markets. The Review made the following seven recommendations, seeking...more
The Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets (MiCAR) seeks to regulate a broad range of crypto-related products and services that do not currently fall within the scope of existing EU financial services legislation. It does not...more
MiFIR / MiFID II: The European Parliament published a press release announcing it has reached provisional political agreement with the Council of the EU on the proposed amendments to the Markets in Financial Instruments...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
On May 24, 2023, the European Commission published a Retail Investment Strategy package aimed at enhancing retail investor protections across the EU and encouraging participation in the EU capital markets. The package...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
On February 2, 2023, the European Securities and Markets Authority published a final report and an Opinion on the trading venue perimeter. The Opinion clarifies the definition of multilateral systems under the EU’s revised...more