London calling for reform, but is the world listening?

The UK's regulator is determined to make the research market truly transparent and competitive and wants the rest of the world to follow its lead

UK regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has been pioneering efforts to reform the brokerage industry by creating a clearer delineation between payments for research and execution. But while asset mangers have shown some desire to achieve more transparency on costs, the road to fully unbundled services is littered with obstacles.

This article covers:

• The burden of proof
  
• Pre-payment problems
• The international angle