UK – More than two-thirds of London-based investment firms are not adequately prepared for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) due to be implemented in November 2007, according to a research report released today.

‘The MiFID Readiness Survey’ – the first to be undertaken and compiled by the MiFID Joint Working Group (JWG) – revealed the majority of investment firms surveyed either don’t have or don’t know whether they have a MiFID compliance framework in place.

“The findings of our first survey demonstrate that getting ready for MiFID is far from ‘job done’ and the more one looks into the detail the more questions are raised as to what being ready really involves,” said co-chair of the IT subject group of the MiFID JWG Bob Fuller.

Thirty-five London based investment houses took part in the survey, sponsored by Standard & Poor’s, Oracle UK and BT Radianz.

The study measured how prepared these firms were to meet the demands of MiFID, and also assessed how they were looking to address the technology hurdles posed by the directive.

While nearly 50% started budgeting for MiFID technology projects in 2006, 80% were unsure if their technology strategy in place catered adequately for pre- and post-trade processing of shares traded outside the regulated markets.

Two-thirds were uncertain how they would manage the pre- and post-trade data publishing obligations required under MiFID Articles 27 and 28.

“This research will help firms to compare their own state of readiness with their peers as well as provide us with valuable insights for our discussions with the European Commission and the FSA,” said Fuller.

As MiFID details become clearer over time, the JWG plans to roll out similar research amongst hedge funds, the tier 2 and tier 3 broker/dealers and market participants across the EU.

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