• Think about the design of the training programme. Identify learning objectives which should be described in a manner that can measure what your personnel should be able to do once the training has been completed.
• Pay particular attention to how the training should be delivered, such as using a classroom approach. There should be a strong practical dimension, perhaps covering common regulatory issues and raising the question about what would be different when such issues occur in the MiFID II regime. It is worth noting that MiFID II introduces enhanced conduct of business requirements including those for advisers who wish to call themselves ‘independent’ and limits the circumstances when firms may provide execution-only services.
Conduct an initial scoping exercise of Mifid and understand what parts of it affect your business and what parts can possibly be ignored
• Evaluate – determine if your personnel has obtained the required knowledge of MiFID II.
Some in the market believe that the earliest anticipated implementation date of MiFID II will be mid-2014 to January 2015. Others believe that it may be longer. However it is important that firms start to consider and train their personnel on how MiFID II will affect their business, not least because it will give them a better understanding of the detailed draft level II measures when they become available.
Simon Lovegrove is a lawyer with the financial services team of Norton Rose Fulbright LLP
