MiFID created no extra demand for IT or services

At least that's the view of Knowledge Technology Solutions (KTS) CEO Andrew Miller. KTS is soon to adopt the brand of its Sep. '07 acquisition, Arcontech, after closing its original market terminal subscription business.

In the company's interim earnings statement today, he says:

 "The implementation date for the much discussed Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) passed without the anticipated increase in demand for technology and related services. For KTS/Arcontech however, MiFID provided the opportunity to work jointly on the real-time web portal for Borse Berlin's Equiduct, the new Pan-European stock exchange, which went live on 4th April. Although the return from this contract was disappointing, it has enabled us to develop additional direct exchange connectivity components and know-how that add to our capability in core business areas."

As Richard Holway notes in his blog, this first point, if more widely true beyond KTS' own experience, doesn't bode well for a number of players who were banking on a bit of a bonanza from this legislation.

But I suspect there are a handful of IT product and services firms who could say they did quite well out of MiFID projects - even though the regulation isn't being enforced yet across Europe and has had little, or even negative impact, besides increasing competition among execution venues.