EFAMA replied to a specific question on moving to stage 3 for the determination of the liquidity assessment of bonds.
MiFID
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive governs how funds (and other financial instruments) can be sold and distributed to investors throughout the EU. It does this by balancing investor protection (governing under what rules and conditions investment advice and portfolio management can be given) with providing the right amount of information about products and services (information about the products’ objectives and costs). In most cases, this type of financial advice, which connects funds with end investors, is provided not by fund managers, but by other financial players, such as banks or financial advisers.
Against this backdrop, EFAMA wants to ensure that these rules are balanced and the information provided to investors is meaningful. While more protection is necessary for retail investors, MiFID should allow other, more professional investors, more freedom in defining what information is necessary to conduct their day-to-day business. Also, MiFID must not make it impossible for ordinary EU citizens to access financial advice to save for their future and retirement.
MiFID: EFAMA replies to ESMA consultation on RTS 2 Annual Review
ESMA consults on guidelines of the MIFID II appropriateness and execution-only requirements
EFAMA agrees in principle with many of ESMA’s suggested approaches in their consultation on guidelines on certain aspects of the MIFID II appropriateness and execution-only requirements. However, certain, essential elements still require further considerations before finalising these Guidelines.
EFAMA responds to IOSCO Consultation on Market Data in Secondary Equity Market
EFAMA supports the initiatives launched by IOSCO and other regulators (e.g. ESMA, FCA, SEC) to analyse and address the significant issues concerning market data in the secondary equity market.
FinDatEx launches interim version of European MiFID Template
The Financial Data Exchange Templates (FinDatEx) platform today published an interim version of the European MiFID Template (EMT V3.1) which is available on the FinDatEx website. The purpose of this interim version is to answer the demand of product distributors and manufacturers to cope with the basic implementation of MiFID II ESG/SFDR principles, and in view of the misaligned application dates of SFDR Level 1, SFDR RTS and MiFID II delegated acts.
Financial Data Exchange Templates (FinDatEx) platform publishes European Feedback Template
Financial Data Exchange Templates (FinDatEx) platform published on 01 December 2020 the European Feedback Template (EFT V1). This template standardises the information to be sent back from the distributor to the manufacturer under the MiFID 2 target market requirements. This is the first European wide feedback template. The EFT and all other FinDatEx templates are not compulsory, provided to the industry free of charge and are free of any intellectual property rights.
Investment Funds Distributor Due Diligence Questionnaire
Funds face unique challenges in performing intermediary oversight, and especially so because of MiFID II requirements, changing regulatory landscapes, and the absence of an industry agreed-upon standard between funds and their distribution channels. To help address these challenges, a dedicated working group developed a uniform due diligence questionnaire (DDQ) that will serve as the standard for investment funds (UCITS and AIFs) in performing onboarding and ongoing oversight of distribution channels.