IHS Markit to Release Mifid II Research Tool in 2017

IHS Markit is expanding the reach of its four different research products and developing a holistic platform. Its products ─ Commission Manager, Vote, Calendar and Hub ─ are planned to be accessible through one sign-in. All the platforms value and distribute independent market research.

The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid II) is expected to strictly regulate how research is used and obtained by financial advisors. Under the new rules set to come out in 2018, asset managers must either pay for research out of their own pocket or use a research payment account (RPA).

[For more on how firms are unbundling research and execution, click here.]

Tom Conigliaro, managing director for IHS Markit's Trading Services, says many firms believe the RPA is too problematic for the buy side to cover on its own, so tools like the one the vendor is building will greatly help users, he believes.

"We see these tools shifting from ‘nice to have' to ‘have to have'. Historically, the products were geared towards larger clients, but with the coming changes from Mifid II, growing demand is emerging across the customer spectrum," he tells WatersTechnology.

He adds those who decide to opt out of the RPA "are either going to have to pay for research out of pocket or hire more analysts internally, and that has a greater economic impact for smaller firms."

While a streamlined product will be released, firms who only want to use a single product will still be able to so.

The Mifid II research tool is expected to be released by June 2017, but Conigliaro says a test version will come out before then.