MiFID II EU Access For Non-EU Portfolio Managers

As of 3 January 2018, the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) will significantly amend the way forward for non-EU firms (third country firms) to access the EU market.

In the long run, MiFID II will create a harmonized regime for the provision of investment services, including individual portfolio management services, by non-EU firms to eligible counterparties and professional clients on a cross-border basis. This new regime will apply to firms in non-EU countries once the EU Commission has adopted a so-called equivalence decision confirming a level of regulation and supervision equivalent to MiFID II in that country. MiFID II also provides for some harmonized rules for conducting business with retail clients and elective professional clients from outside the EU.