The TRADE 63 - Q1 2020 | Page 42

[ R E S E A R C H | U N B U N D L I N G ] the buy-side, he warns. “The inherent conflict of interest that exists when owners pay for their own scorecards isn’t palatable to most investors and is in fact encouraging a corrupt framework that existed with credit rating agencies before 2008,” Pacitti says. The report from the AMF in January said the fact that the pooling of revenues generated by execution and research is no longer authorised has led to a deterioration in coverage of small and medium- sized companies. This is detrimental to a healthy competitive environment, the AMF states. It also proposed using the expression: “research paid for by the company” on the research note. The European Commission is preparing to revise 42 // TheTRADE // Spring 2020 some MiFID II rules this year, with a consultation published recently, outlining the possible changes. The AMF argues that that the European framework could be modified to introduce a form of adequation between the cost and price of research. It calls for the creation of a virtual “research marketplace”, in which investment service providers and research firms would exchange financial research with investors, who would volunteer to share its cost.