The main purpose of MiFID II was to increase transparency in the financial markets. Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, it was clear that financial institutions were not monitored closely enough. In order to increase transparency, though, MiFID II has had some effects that were not anticipated by some. These include:
According to MiFID II fund managers are required to pay financial analysts separately for research services on top of their regular salaries. In the past, fund managers relied on the services of analysts who worked with brokers. As a broker, you tend to know how your traders are leaning since you can observe their trades. Fund managers would thus pay brokers for this information, and the analysts would get a commission from the trades the fund managers made. Furthermore, the analysts’ salaries would also come from the money received from fund managers.