Purpose – The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) on investment managers but also on funds' units as financial instruments. Design/methodology/approach – Starting from the innovative legislative structure and scope of the MiFID, the paper assesses the way investment managers and funds'units are impacted, knowing that investment managers and funds'units are already largely tackled by another Directive, the UCITS Directive. Findings – In spite of increasing many organizational and process requirements within investment management companies, the MiFID will probably not create dramatic changes in the daily functioning of those companies. However, the linkage between the provisions of the MiFID and the UCITS Directive has not been clearly made by European legislative institutions, which leaves uncertainties in the way the national legislators and regulators will transpose the MiFID in order to get the best consistence between this Directive and the UCITS one. Research limitations/implications – Final assessment should be made once Member States have transposed the MiFID Directive and have enforced it in practice. Originality/value – The value of the paper is to set a bridge between two different directives (the MiFID on the one hand, the UCITS Directive on the other hand) which both impact investment managers and funds' units.
