Regulating Different Trading Venues – The European Experience Based on MIFID

The rise of alternative trading systems has created a dual system, with heavily regulated exchanges on the one hand, and almost unregulated alternative trading systems on the other hand. The European Union has responded to this development by enacting Directive 2004/39/EC on markets in financial instruments (MiFID). Evidence has shown that the MiFID regulation has increased competition between trading venues within Europe and substantially lowered the costs of trading. This paper analyses to what extent MiFID actually has created a level playing field between the different trading venues and to what extent investors are adequately protected when trading on different venues