Regulation
MiFID
The Market in Financial Instruments Directive is an EU directive which has been in effect since November 1st, 2007. The MiFID sets forth the requirements for the entire European financial sector with the aim of introducing a single European market of financial instruments. Its main goal is to promote the emergence of an efficient, transparent and integrated financial trading infrastructure, including ensuring a high degree of investor protection. The directive contains measures that changed and improved the organisation and functioning of investment firms, facilitating cross border trading while creating strategic opportunities. The MiFID can be viewed in full here.
EXANTE, as an EU-regulated investment firm, falls under the MiFID’s jurisdiction and has as such implemented all necessary legal requirements, protocols and policies to ensure full compliance with the directive. Regarding the MiFID implementation for partners, EXANTE proactively supports them by offering a range of services that facilitate the partners themselves in meeting their local national MiFID requirements and hence reduce costs.
The Malta Financial Supervisory Authority monitors the Maltese investment industry’s compliance with the MiFID.
Client Classification: Suitability & Appropriateness Tests
The MiFID requires firms to classify clients in three main categories, as "Eligible Counterparties", "Professional Clients" and "Retail Clients" (the latter having the highest level of protection) and to assess their suitability and appropriateness for the products offered.
Post-Trade Transparency
EXANTE ensures that transaction transparency is achieved in accordance with the MiFID. In order to enable investors or market participants to access the terms of potential stock transactions at any time and to retroactively verify the conditions in which these transactions were carried out, EXANTE publishes details of completed stock transactions and discloses details of current opportunities to trade shares. More specifically, all types of trading in financial instruments, whether on regulated markets, MTFs or over-the-counter (OTC), are subject to a post-trade transparency obligation.
Best Execution
The MiFID requires that investment firms take all possible steps to obtain the best overall result in the execution of client’s order. The best possible result is not limited to the execution price, but also includes a variety of factors, such as speed, the likelihood of the execution and the likelihood of a settlement.
EXANTE’s Best Execution Policy creates transparency for EXANTE’s clients’ means of ensuring the best execution hereunder relying on: (i) state-of-the-art technology for routing, monitoring and executing orders; (ii) careful consideration of the elements of order execution; (iii) regular and rigorous examination of the overall execution quality.
Transaction Reporting
EXANTE must report all transactions to the Malta Financial Supervisory Authority.