I note that there has been some considerable comment of late about the state fo the markets for equities and spreads, dark pools and so on.
Im not sure how many investors are aware of it but there is another wonderful piece of regulation that is headed our way, the fantastically named MIFID 2.
This is really wide ranging but there is a lot aimed at changes to how the structure of the equity markets will operate. Personally I think that there are a lot fo good things in MIFID 2 but thought Id just start a thread and see what others thought.
For reference, here is a good piece from Anthony Hilton summarising his thoughts.
This references this piece from Clifford Chance.
And for completeness, here is the FCA effort (good luck)
For what its worth, I feel that the root cause of the problems is the fragmentation of the market via different exchanges, dark pools and different levels of quotation. A move to all transactions having to go through one exchange with all investors able to post quotes alongside MMs (who would have to deal in more reasonable amounts of stock) would benefit all in terms of improved liquidity and transparency. Also, separation of function (as per the proposals) woudl remove scope for any abuses (or, at least, reduce them).
Anyway, Id just like to see what others think of the subject.
Cheers
D
