Possible Solutions for U.S. broker-dealers
Some broker-dealers have opted to take various actions since the MiFID II rules came in, including:
- registering (or retaining their status quo) as an investment adviser to receive the “hard-dollar” payment and preparing and distributing research in accordance with compliance procedures under the Advisers Act;
- complying with the Advisers Act. Many broker-dealers are prohibited from registering with the SEC as investment advisers because they do not meet the threshold of having $100 million assets under management. These brokers need to comply with several of the Advisers Act requirements nonetheless; for example, the fiduciary obligations to those clients that pay hard dollars for research, resulting in a need for new compliance procedures;
- moving research operations into an affiliate investment adviser (e.g., a U.K. or EU affiliate) who sells their research for hard dollars; and
- shutting down research operations.
The EU Proposals
According to the European Commission, the EU MiFID II rules on unbundled research have failed to achieve all of their objectives. While the unbundling rules have improved the transparency of costs linked to research provision and led to better conflicts of interest management, they have also resulted in the production of independent research becoming unsustainable and a considerable reduction in size of the research industry and the number of issuers covered by research analysts.
The European Commission has tabled two sets of proposals in this area, the first of which was published at the end of 2022 and the second in May this year. The proposals seek to maintain a balance between granting industry flexibility on how they deal with payments for research and ensuring consumer protection.
Expanding the Exemption for Research on SME Issuers: the 2022 EU Proposals
There are exemptions from the inducements rule, for example, for minor, non-monetary benefits and for trial periods. During the Covid pandemic, the EU introduced an exemption from the inducements rule for research on smaller issuers, which was intended to improve small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) research coverage. The exemption applies to research on listed and unlisted companies with a market capitalization below EUR 1 billion and is available provided that a firm has: (i) notified its clients of the joint payments for research and execution services; and (ii) entered into an agreement with the research provider identifying the part of any combined charges or joint payments for execution services and research that is attributable to research.
However, the introduction of this exemption has not been successful because investment firms and brokers have chosen not to introduce two systems for research invoicing and have instead retained the unbundled scheme for all clients. Therefore, in December 2022, the European Commission published a legislative proposal to amend EU MiFID II, which included a proposal to expand the existing SME research exemption to capture issuers with a market capitalization below EUR 10 billion, replacing the existing threshold of EUR 1 billion. As with the existing exemption, research carried out pursuant to the proposed extended exemption would still be subject to other EU MiFID II rules on conflicts of interest. The revised exemption would be available to EU MiFID II firms providing portfolio management or other investment or ancillary services to clients. For research on larger issuers, the existing regime would continue to apply.
Ban on Inducements for Execution-Only Services to Retail Clients: the 2023 EU Proposals
The European Commission’s latest proposals, published in May 2023, include some liberalization. However, there will be a new express prohibition on inducements for execution-only services involving the reception and transmission of orders or the execution of orders to or on behalf of retail clients. The Commission is of the view that only a full ban would eliminate conflicts of interests in this context.
Where a firm provides investment advice as the main service, the new ban would not apply to the execution or reception and transmission of order service for that client’s transactions covered by the advice. The new ban would not apply either to fees or remuneration received or paid from an issuer for placement and underwriting services. This exemption would not be available for instruments that qualify as packaged retail investment products.
The existing ban on inducements when a firm provides portfolio and other services will remain, provided that disclosure is made to the client. The existing exemptions to the inducements rule will apply to the new ban for execution-only services. The exemption for minor non-monetary benefits is being clarified to apply to benefits that are either below EUR 100 per annum (a new explicit limit) or that could not be considered to impair compliance with the investment firm’s duty to act in the best interest of the client due to their scale and nature, provided that disclosure is made to the retail client.
The existing ‘quality enhancement’ test for inducements is replaced with new criteria for firms to act in the best interest of their clients. Firms providing investment advice to retail clients will need to: (i) base their advice on an assessment of an appropriate range of financial products; (ii) recommend the most cost-efficient financial product from the range of suitable financial products; and (iii) offer at least one financial product without additional features which are not necessary to the achievement of the client’s investment objectives and that give rise to additional costs, so that retail investors are presented also with alternative, and possibly cheaper, options to consider.
There are also enhanced disclosure obligations to ensure retail client protection, including a requirement for firms to have appropriate risk warning in all information materials.
These proposals are part of the European Commission’s proposed Retail Investment Strategy. We discuss other elements of that Strategy in our blog, Financial Regulatory Developments Focus.
Status of the EU Proposals
The end of 2022 revealed divergent opinions within the EU bodies on the future appropriate approach on inducements and unbundling of research, in particular whether to impose a full ban on inducements. Such divergence is still apparent and the debate continues as these latest proposals are considered by the European Parliament and Council. Although the Commission is now only proposing a partial ban, there will be intense lobbying about whether that is the correct course. A future comprehensive ban on inducements has not been fully ruled out, including by the Commission which will report on the effects of the revised inducements regime three years after these latest proposals are adopted, possibly proposing a full ban then. Interestingly, the Council recently adopted its negotiating mandate on the 2022 proposals in which it indicates how far the EU might go to create more flexibility for firms and alleviate some of the burden imposed by the research unbundling rules.
At this stage, it is not possible to know if these proposals will be adopted, or if adopted, in what form. Both sets of proposals would apply 18 months after entry into force, with the earlier proposals likely to take effect first, unless the EU legislature moves the proposals into one procedure. The Council’s proposed approach would be the most useful to U.S. broker-dealers. However, even if that is agreed to by the European Parliament, any changes to the EU rules will not take effect before the expiry of the SEC’s relief on July 3, 2023.
U.K. Update
Post-Brexit, the U.K. adopted the MiFID II regime in whole but has embarked on a program of targeted reform already (which we discuss in our notes, “UK Wholesale Markets Review” and “UK Financial Services and Markets Bill 2022”). The U.K. also has an exemption for research on SME issuers, although there are differences to the EU’s exemption: the threshold is £200 million, and the exemption is available to all firms subject to the U.K. MiFID II rules, provided that the research is provided on a re-bundled basis or for free. The U.K. also has the following exemptions:
- FICC-related research: third-party research received by a U.K. MiFID II firm providing investment services or ancillary services to clients, where it is received in connection with an investment strategy primarily relating to FICC instruments. FICC research would be allowed to be rebundled;
- Independent Research Exemption: research provided to a U.K. MiFID II firm by independent research providers, where the independent research provider is not engaged in execution services and is not part of a financial services group that includes an investment firm that offers execution or brokerage services; and
- “openly available” material: written material that is made openly available from a third party to any U.K. MiFID II firm wishing to receive it or to the general public. “Openly available” means without conditions or barriers to accessing the written material other than those necessary to comply with relevant regulatory obligations.
There are currently no proposals to amend these exemptions or to make other changes to the research unbundling rules. However, there is the potential for such changes to be included in the Investment Research Review, announced as part of the Edinburgh Reforms (which we discuss in our note: “UK Government Publishes Edinburgh Reforms for Financial Services”). The Investment Research Review is concerned with the interplay between levels of research and the attractiveness of the U.K. as a listing venue, taking into account the effect of the U.K. MiFID II research unbundling rules on the amount and quality of research. The Review may make recommendations for legislative and non-legislative changes, which will be for the government, the FCA and industry to implement. Any legislative changes would need to be made under the powers to restate or amend retained EU law to be conferred on HM Treasury by the Financial Services and Markets Bill, which will soon be finalized. Such legislative change may lead to the FCA revising its rules, which would come into effect in tandem with the legislative amendments.