Increased access to affordable market data promotes transparency, price discovery, and market liquidity
Brussels, Belgium – MFA supported the goals of the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA) proposal to enhance access to market data through improvements to the MiFID II/MiFIR regime in a comment letter submitted today. The letter is in response to an ESMA consultation on technical standards related to the transparency regime for non-equity instruments and provision of market data on a reasonable commercial basis.
“The ESMA proposal will improve market participants’ access to affordable, accurate, and timely market data. This will help deliver on the promise of the Capital Markets Union by enhancing the transparency, competitiveness, and efficiency of EU capital markets,” said Bryan Corbett, MFA President and CEO.
MFA’s letter supports measures in the ESMA proposal that make the pricing of market data more transparent and subject to regulatory scrutiny. This includes requiring trading venues and approved publication arrangements to break out their market data costs into specific categories, justify their cost allocations, and explain any proposed fee differences between customer types. Increased price transparency will ensure market participants have access to affordable, accurate, and timely market data. The proposal’s measures on price transparency will strengthen EU capital markets by making price discovery more efficient and markets more liquid.
MFA’s letter highlights that volume of data and speed of delivery are appropriate metrics that should factor into pricing, but that pricing should not vary based on a subscriber’s intended use:
MFA strongly believes that data prices should not vary based on how an individual user intends to use the data or the user’s business model. Charging different customers different prices for the same data is inherently discriminatory. The value of market data to a user is highly subjective and not an appropriate metric for pricing. Market data users should pay the same objective, cost-based price for the same data.
Read the full comment letter here.
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About the global alternative asset management industry
The global alternative asset management industry, including hedge funds, credit funds, and crossover funds, has assets under management of €5 trillion (Q3 2023). The industry serves thousands of public and private pension funds, charitable endowments, foundations, sovereign governments, and other global institutional investors by providing portfolio diversification and risk-adjusted returns to help meet their funding obligations and return targets.
About MFA
Managed Funds Association (MFA), based in Washington, DC, New York, Brussels, and London, represents the global alternative asset management industry. MFA’s mission is to advance the ability of alternative asset managers to raise capital, invest, and generate returns for their beneficiaries. MFA advocates on behalf of its membership and convenes stakeholders to address global regulatory, operational, and business issues. MFA has more than 180 member fund managers, including traditional hedge funds, credit funds, and crossover funds, that collectively manage over €3 trillion across a diverse group of investment strategies. Member firms help pension plans, university endowments, charitable foundations, and other institutional investors to diversify their investments, manage risk, and generate attractive returns over time.
