Pay Cut for European ER Analysts

Due to the introduction of MiFID II in Europe, banks now have to be more transparent about how they charge their clients and "must charge separately for research and trading." According to a report released by Greenwich Associates,

Research budgets are also being slashed. The largest funds in the region cut their budgets for external European equity research by 19% in 2018, and they're planning another 5% to 6% reduction next year.

Which firms are benefitting and which ones aren't? Well, since smaller firms have previously relied on luring customers by handing out free research reports in hopes of generating trading commissions, they are going to take the biggest hits since they'll now have to "unbundle" their services. Bulge brackets, on the other hand, have benefitted from this move.

So far, the biggest winners from the industry-changing 'unbundling' regulations have been global bulge-bracket dealers. Global bulge-bracket brokers have clearly increased relative share and impact since MiFID II went live.

By the start of 2019, the equity research departments at European banks are expected to be earning 20% less on their research, a drop of around $300 million. And guess who takes the most significant pay cuts? The little guys.