MiFID II Knowledge and Competency

• This workshop will equip your firm and employees with the necessary knowledge and competency required in a post-MiFID II world (ESMA guidelines)
• Ideal for anyone who does not already hold an industry qualification
• Using practical examples and applied content it allows participants to gap-fill against their existing knowledge
• Acts as a refresher across core financial market and compliance topics

• Know and understand the key workings of financial markets, products and their risk characteristics
• Apply the impact of macroeconomic events on the value of financial products
• Understand performance indicators
• Review the current regulatory landscape and understand the key issues relating to market abuse and AML
• Be able to communicate with intention and authenticity
• Analyse how to manage through complexity and change

MiFID II saw increased focus on the requirement that firms with staff that provide advice or information about financial instruments, investment services or ancillary services to clients must demonstrate minimum standards of knowledge and competence to fulfil their regulatory obligations. Firms must, therefore, ensure that such staff have the necessary knowledge and competence to:

 A. Understand the key characteristics, risk and features of those investment products available through the firm, including any general tax implications and costs to be incurred by the client in the context of transactions. Particular care should be taken when giving information with respect to products characterised by higher levels of complexity;

 B. Understand the total amount of costs and charges to be incurred by the client in the context of transactions in an investment product, or investment services or ancillary services;

 C. Understand the characteristics and scope of investment services or ancillary services;

 D. Understand how financial markets function and how they affect the value and pricing of investment products on which they provide information to clients;

 E. Understand the impact of economic figures, national/regional/global events on markets and on the value of investment products on which they provide information;

 F. Understand the difference between past performance and future performance scenarios as well as the limits of predictive forecasting;

 G. Understand issues relating to market abuse and anti-money laundering;

 H. Assess data relevant to the investment products on which they provide information to clients such as Key Investor Information Documents, prospectuses, financial statements, or financial data;

 I. Understand specific market structures for the investment products on which they provide information to clients and, where relevant, their trading venues or the existence of any secondary markets;

 J.Have a basic knowledge of valuation principles for the type of investment products in relation to which the information is provided.

Below are the course content and the relevant ESMA mappings.

With over 20 years of training experience in financial services, the trainer is well placed to support you across a range of compliance-related topics.  He is a former Head of Education for HSBC covering the UK and Europe, responsible for regulatory and financial crime related compliance learning.  His time at HSBC was during intense scrutiny from regulators and government functions during the bank’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

Other roles include leading the Monitoring and Testing programme for a UK Wealth Manager, and Senior Vice President responsible for Global Risk & Compliance training at a US-based bank.  He also worked in the Insurance Firms division at the Financial Conduct Authority (in the FSA days) where he was the divisional expert for the rules and outcomes required under the Training & Competence handbook.

The HSBC role, along with five years at Barclays in their Private Clients and Wealth functions, has seen the trainer work with retail, commercial, wholesale and private banking channels.  Since leaving HSBC, he has worked with the compliance, HR and operational teams of firms to enhance their regulatory understanding, as well as delivering content across private equity firms, investment houses, banks and wealth managers.  He regularly delivers core programmes for TISA and the Investment Association.

He is a former member of the Investment Management Association Training & Education Committee and won the Thomson Reuters award for “Most Effective Compliance Training at a Regulated Firm” in 2010.

If you have employees, who are not giving ‘advice’ to clients but who have client contact about your products and services, then this course is for your firm. Collectively these employees are known as Information Givers and will include many of your support employees such as desk assistants, client support teams, research, sales, legal and even brokers/dealers in some organisations.

ESMA (European Securities & Markets Authority) has outlined Knowledge & Competence expectations that firms need to evidence competency against. Some of the employees may already hold suitable industry qualifications, however, what about everyone else? Firms’ are expected to annually assess their employees against the ESMA criteria. Anyone not assessed will need to be under increased supervision until their competence has been demonstrated and evidenced.

This one-day course is therefore ideal for those who do not hold an industry qualification covering the necessary knowledge and competence requirements but are required to do so. Using the ESMA mappings this course will serve as both a refresher across key financial topics but also a practical demonstration of the knowledge and competency required by all Information Givers.