BEST EXECUTION AND SPOT FX (May 2016)

Those of you who follow our commentary will already know that we have been suggesting for a couple of years, that firms will be including Spot FX within their wider MiFID Best Ex construct. This is partly due to the 'best practice' element of Best Ex across all the other instruments that are covered by MiFID, but also due to the Senior Managers Regime which if investigating any subsequent wrong doing might raise an eyebrow (read have a serious issue) that a firm has chosen to not provide Best Execution for Spot FX.

Two years ago conversations suggested that a couple of firms were preparing to include Spot FX under their Best Ex policies, whilst the wider market was not. Latterly it appears that many are now also alive to the idea of including Spot FX within this policy.

Interestingly the FCA have recently provided an opinion that suggests at least some Spot FX would be expected to find inclusion with a Best Ex policy.

At the recent FXJSC in April, it was noted that ancillary trades to a trade that is subject to MiFID are also to be part of MiFID, and therefore in the case of a MiFID trade requiring an ancillary Spot FX trade to be executed, the Spot FX trade is subject to MiFID - and thence Best Execution.

More grist to the mill ...