Many MiFID requirements are keeping the buy-side awake at night, but investor protection obligations, which entail fund manufacturers and distributors working more closely, top the list. The more onerous tasks in fund management operations might have been handed over to third-party providers in the past, but in future, asset managers will have to be much more accountable.
“One of the biggest changes with MiFID II is that the buy-side can’t duck out of its responsibility when either choosing a broker, vendor or asset servicing firm,” says Cosmo Wisniewski, director Citisoft. “They will still need to work with them, but the responsibility has clearly shifted and they can no longer hide behind the letter of the law.”
However, the clock is ticking and fund managers are unlikely to have time to make sweeping changes to their systems and processes to meet certain aspects of the regulation, known fully as the Market in Financial Instruments Directive II. For more on how the buy-side is reacting to MiFID II and other upcoming regulation, read the full article.