US Congress Approves Major Study into MiFID II Research

The US House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill requiring the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to study the provision of investment research for small issuers. It will require the SEC to explore a broad range of issues including among others the demand for research by institutional and retail investors; the availability of research; the volume of research over time; current competition in the research market; the costs of research; potential conflicts of interest in the production and distribution process; and the impact of different payment mechanisms. The bill has now been passed to the Senate for approval.