Broking and Dealing
Broker dealers have had to deal with a significant amount of change to the regulatory landscape in recent years, principally as a result of the implementation of the European Markets in Financial Instruments Directive ("MiFID").
Our experience of the plethora of rules relating to this sector has been gained not only through extensive contact with leading investment houses whilst in private practice, but also through the practical insight gained from working directly in a senior legal position for an international investment bank.
We have experience of advising on the legal, regulatory and compliance issues relevant across the breadth of the broking and dealing sector, including those affecting: "traditional" stockbrokers; derivatives traders; foreign exchange dealers; execution-only brokers, market-makers and alternative trading platforms.
Aside from the principal issues of client classification, know your customer requirements under the anti-money laundering regime, conduct of business rules generally and the capital adequacy rules under the Capital Requirements Directive ("CRD"), we have experience of dealing with the practical challenges of outsourcing, the control of conflicts of interest and the need for "Chinese walls".
We can advise across all relevant business areas, including the sales, research, execution and broking functions of broker dealers – and whether trading is discretionary, execution only, "own account" and/or with private or institutional clients or market counterparties.