Three standardised industry documents have been finalised to assist buy-side firms when opting-up local authority clients to elective professional client status under MiFID2. It will become necessary for many managers to perform such an opt-up from 3 January 2018 due to the recategorization of local authorities as retail clients under MiFID2, meaning that local authority pension schemes within the same legal entity would otherwise be unable to continue to allocate assets to certain strategies, products and managers in absence of a specific opt-up to professional client status.  The three documents include a: (i) standard form request and consent letter for local authority clients; (ii) standardised industry assessment questionnaire for local authorities containing both qualitative and quantitative assessments; and (iii) one-page guidance and timeline document on the four stages of the UK local authority opt-up process.

The project was led by The Investment Association, coordinating with the Local Government Association, with the input of a cross section of firms and associations including AIMA and the BVCA. If you would like to obtain these documents or have any questions, please contact Oliver Robinson.