Investment - Articles - PLSA comment on FCAs latest MiFID II Policy Statement

 “We welcome the publication of the final MiFID II rules and guidance from the FCA as it shows that they have listened to the industries concerns. The Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) has over £217bn invested and one of our key concerns about the original consultation was that the decision to classify local authority pension funds as retail investors would have put real constraints on how they delivered value to their 5.3 million members and how they might continue to invest in infrastructure projects.

 “However, the FCA has listened to the industries concerns and taken steps to allow them to ‘opt up’ more easily. In particular, the revised approach recognises the difference between authorities and pension funds and the skills, experience, and level of regulation that guides the LGPS. Following this announcement, it is now time to concentrate on making MiFID II work in practice to ensure that LGPS schemes are in a position to meet the January 2018 deadline.”