Over the course of the last five years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting with congressional members who have oversight of the financial services industry. During these visits, there have been times while waiting outside a congressional member’s office that I’ve overheard a staffer speaking with a constituent over the phone. More times than not, these conversations are democracy in action. Sometimes however, the calls are painful to hear due the lack of civility expressed by the caller. In those rare occasions, I have found myself closing my eyes and mumbling to myself, “Please don’t let that be an STA member.” Kidding aside, regardless of tone these calls all end the same way, with the ever-patient staffer politely saying, “The congressman/woman appreciates you calling. Thank you.” 

Voter frustration, expressed at local town halls has received much attention lately. While I will not speculate as to whether these outbursts are organic or orchestrated, I will state that opinions expressed in these forums are not the sole sources of information a congressional member uses when trying to understand where their constituents stand on a particular issue. 

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MiFID II and the North American Manager 
 
The unbundling of research and execution requirements under MiFID II are less than a year away from being implemented. This event with its competitive and regulatory effects, is likely to impact asset managers in North America and not just those in Europe. 
 
Please join us as we review the requirements for European asset managers and discuss the likely impact on North American asset managers and their expectations from broker dealers in such areas as; payment for research, best execution and transparency. Additionally, what role, if any does the SEC have in creating a MiFID II reporting regime in the US will be covered 

*Please note that content covered on this Open Call is specifically geared towards North American broker dealers and small to mid-size asset managers (<$50bln aum).*