Commcise, a commission management solutions company and technology provider ITG have paired up to combine their research payment and management solutions to provide an end-to-end solution under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II).
The solution is intended to allow asset managers to carry out the complete research management process with a single front-to-back audit trail and integrated workflow.
Under MiFID II, which is due to come into effect 3 January 2018, investment research must be bespoke to each institution, and investment firms must pay for research with their own funds, or through a separate designated account, which is charged to the client. Research fees also have to be separated from execution and trading fees, and there must be evidence to show the new rules are being adhered to.
The new rules are designed to improve transparency, and to stop research costs being unfairly passed on to clients.
The Commcise and ITG solution is intended to help ensure trade activity is unbundled from research fees, and to show fair allocation of research charges to a fund level.
Commcise will track and manage budgets at a strategy, desk or fund level, using accounting data to assess research charges. It will then calculate any rebates, and deliver instructions to ITG for repayment.
Jack Pollina, managing director at ITG, commented: “This integration with Commcise enhances the value of our comprehensive research payment account solution. With MiFID II fast approaching, investment firms need to rethink their research spend processes and ensure what they have in place is compliant with the new regulations.”
“By collaborating with key partners like Commcise, we can help clients have the best end-to-end solution, meeting their investment research needs as well as their regulatory obligations.”
Amrish Ganatra, managing director at Commcise, added: “We are very pleased to announce our latest integration with ITG, a market leader in the provision of investment solutions and research payment accounts custodial aggregation services. This is further evidence of the open nature of our platform.”
