The TRADE 57 | Page 3

[ E D I T O R I A L ] THETRADE thetradenews.com  Editor JOHN BRAZIER [phone] [email protected] Senior Reporter HAYLEY MCDOWELL [phone] [email protected] Contributors DAVID WHITEHOUSE Advertising Director MARC CAROLISSEN [phone] [email protected] Senior Account Manager MATT ALDRED [phone] [email protected] Research & Operations KAREN DELAHOY [phone] [email protected] Art Director OLIVIA ROSZKOWSKA [phone] [email protected] Publisher JONATHAN WATKINS [phone] [email protected] Tungsten Publishing 20 Little Britain London, UK EC1A 7DH [phone] © The Trade is owned and produced by Tungsten Publishing Ltd. ©Tungsten Publishing 2018 Although Tungsten Publishing has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this publication, neither it nor any contributor can accept any legal responsibility whatsoever for consequences that may arise from errors or omissions or any opinions or advice given. This publication is not a substitute for professional advice on a specific transaction. No reproduction allowed without prior permission. Where has the time gone? It’s autumn already and where has the time gone? Seems like it was just yesterday that we were anticipating what the New Year would bring, and yet here we are, nine full months later, somehow. Nine months; you could make a brand new human being in that time. There’s been a lot to keep up with so far this year and the pace seems to have truly picked up again now that the hazy, not-quite-lazy days of summer have passed. Events season is in full swing and the confer- ences are coming thick and fast. The TRADE has already taken a trip to sunny Barcelona to remind ourselves what summer weather looks like, not to mention cover this year’s TradeTech FX Europe event following up on our April sojourn to Paris for its equities counterpart. The European road show will keep chugging on later this year when we pitch up in Amsterdam for the Fixed Income Leaders Summit in early November, so keep an eye out for our unparalleled coverage of the two-day event. While it does feel sometimes like 2018 has been something of a blur so far, there have been some constants that have acted as anchors throughout, tethering us to the grounded reality of the world we live and work in as it hurtles by. No more so than MiFID II – stop groaning – which we have taken a closer look at nine months into its lifespan. When The TRADE reviewed the state of the market earlier this year we found that par- ticipants were still grappling to adjust to the new environment; now it seems that firms have settled into life with their new responsibilities and are beginning to show some confidence. But that’s not to say they’re getting too cocky just yet. There’s always plenty of work to be done when it comes to compliance and if the rumour mill is right (Disclaimer: The TRADE takes no responsibility for the produce of the rumour mill), non-compliance punishments are more likely to happen than not. Speaking of punishments, we have also taken a gander at the ongoing minefield of ambiguity and disarray that is Brexit. With time fast running out until the UK lumbers out of the European Union’s exit door with, as of the time of writing, no deal or clear idea of what to do once it’s gone, financial firms are beginning to act on their contingency plans. How it will all plan out is anyone’s guess, but chances are we’ll arrive at that situation before we know it. It’s now been over 10 years since Lehman Brothers fell and ushered in a new era for the financial markets worldwide, but in some senses, they are now only just beginning to take their first steps into the future. John Brazier Editor The TRADE Issue 57 // TheTradeNews.com // 3