Demonstrating its commitment to deliver a comprehensive suite of solutions to assist the financial services industry with ensuring ongoing compliance with impending MiFID II requirements, Thomson Reuters has expanded its e-learning capabilities with new compliance training courses designed to give organizations a clear, concise understanding of the regulatory framework mandated by the European Securities & Markets Authority (ESMA).
Thomson Reuters MiFID II compliance training suite clarifies the complexity of the legislation and provides a concise view of what organizations should consider with ongoing MiFID II compliance. Under MiFID II regulations, trading venues, approved reporting mechanisms, organized trading facilities, investment firms and sell-side firms will each have a significant reporting obligation to both ESMA and to their local regulatory body. MiFID II is intended to reduce the risks associated with what has been seen historically as light regulation, and ensure investors are treated fairly.
“The stark reality is that many institutions are not fully aware of all their MiFID II obligations and therefore do not yet have the most effective compliance processes in place,” said Stuart Martin, managing director, Risk Information & Learning Services at Thomson Reuters. “Our MiFID II e-learning courses address the many questions we repeatedly hear from our customers, which are not only relevant for the firms themselves, but also apply to the individual employees of those firms. We remain committed to providing a clear and effective comprehensive suite of solutions that make a measurable difference in enabling our customers to meet new and ongoing regulations. Our e-learning suite is the latest demonstrated step along that journey.”
Will Jan, vice president & lead analyst at Outsell, commented: “A key barrier to adoption for regulatory solutions has been the steep learning curve involved. Many financial firms recognize the value to deploying a compliance solution to avoid business discontinuity. But the reality remains that if employees do not understand the implications of the regulatory requirements, or effective methods of using the compliance solution, the firm will fail to realize the true value of its compliance measures.”
To support organizations in their ongoing compliance, and to raise employee awareness, Thomson Reuters suite of e-learning courses has been developed to cover the following four main areas:
MiFID II for the Buy-Side course helps buy-side employees to understand the focus on better investor protection, increased market transparency and integrity, and how this affects known market structures. Employees learn about the impact on such core categories as best execution, how different trading venues are defined, and what role a systematic internaliser plays.
MiFID II for the Sell-Side course educates employees working in sell-side organizations and positions by informing teams on what to consider differently with regard to trading obligations, high-frequency trading or market making. It details the different obligations on trade, transaction and position reporting.
MiFID II Market Structure course focuses on the new trading venue types allowed after MiFID II takes effect, and the key differences in the operation of these trading venues. Learners will be able to identify MiFID II’s impact on market transparency and integrity, and better understand systematic internalisers and dark pool trading.
MiFID II International Reach course explains the wide-ranging impacts of MiFID II outside of the European Union on trading, regulation and governance. International firms of all types operating in financial markets need to be aware of these changes, and their effect on both their business and the markets.
Thomson Reuters is committed to providing its clients with solutions to meet a wide range of MiFID II regulations. Announced initiatives to help its clients achieve MiFID II compliance include: a partnership with VisibleAlpha and enhancements to Eikon to assist in compliance for research unbundling; the introduction of an APA connectivity solution for trade reporting requirements; enhancements to its reference-data capabilities, available on its integrated data and analytics delivery platform, DataScope; a legal entity identifier (LEI) profiling solution; and enhancements to its Tick History feed.