Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II”)

ESMA Guidelines for Assessment of Knowledge and Competence Under MiFID II

On December 18, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published a final report on guidelines for the assessment of knowledge and competence under the MiFID II Directive (2014/65/EU) (“Directive”).

Article 25(1) of the Directive requires investment firms to ensure that persons giving investment advice or providing information about financial instruments, investment services or ancillary services to clients on behalf of the firm possess the necessary knowledge and competence to fulfil their obligations under the Directive.

Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation

March 10, 2015 – the FCA published an updated timetable relating to the implementation of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II”) and Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (“MiFIR”). The timetable sets out the key dates for the implementation and transposition of the Directive and Regulation into domestic law. The deadline for transposing MiFID II into domestic law is July 3, 2016. MiFID II and MiFIR enter into force on January 3, 2017. The FCA aims to publish its main consultation paper on the implementation of MiFID II and MiFIR in December 2015. The final rules are to be published in June 2016. The FCA’s timetable is available on its dedicated webpage here.