Tomorrow heralds the introduction of MiFID II
02 January 2018
MiFID II will introduce wide-ranging changes to financial services regulation that will affect UK pension schemes and how they use and pay for fund management services. With the implementation deadline less than 24 hours away (Wednesday 3 January 2018) it is essential that pension schemes are ready and fully understand the impact MiFID II will have on the way they invest.
Caroline Escott, Investment and Defined Benefit Policy Lead at the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, comments:
“Under MiFID II, schemes will have to deal with a vast range of changes affecting everything from the way in which research is paid for, to the disclosure of cost and best execution information. Although this poses challenges to pension schemes and trustees, which need to get to grips with what the new rules mean for them, it also offers an opportunity for in-depth consideration of the value of schemes’ fund management services. For instance, schemes could take advantage of the improved research cost transparency to assess where investment research adds value, or use the cost disclosures to improve their due diligence on managers and think about how to achieve better value for money.
“With the new automatic categorisation of LGPS funds as ‘retail’ instead of ‘professional’ clients, it is particularly important that this sector takes all the necessary steps to be ‘opted-up’ to professional status by their managers. Retail clients do not have access to some asset classes like infrastructure and schemes will need to opt-up as quickly as possible to ensure that their investment strategy is not adversely affected.”
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association has published a guide outlining the top five actions that pension schemes need to take to prepare for MiFID II. The guide is available for free on the PLSA’s website here.
For more information or comment please contact the PLSA press office for more details.
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PRESS CONTACTS:
Lee Blackwell, Head of Media and PR, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
T: 020 7601 1726, M: 07713 073023, E: [email protected]
Kathryn Mortimer, Press Officer, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
T: 020 7601 1748, M: 07901 007713, E: [email protected]
Eleanor Carric, PR Manager, Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
T: 020 7601 1718, M: 07825 171 446, E: [email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS:
We’re the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association; the national association with a ninety year history of helping pension professionals run better pension schemes. Our members include over 1,300 pension schemes with 20 million members and £1 trillion in assets, and over 400 businesses. They make us the voice for pensions and lifetime savings in Westminster, Whitehall and Brussels.
Our purpose is simple: to help everyone to achieve a better income in retirement. We work to get more money into retirement savings, to get more value out of those savings and to build the confidence and understanding of savers.