Andrew Quick, global head of execution, Rothschild & Co Global Markets Solutions
If the last few years have taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected, but one thing we are certain of seeing in 2026 is increased support for a move back towards a more bundled market.
We have engaged with over 250 UK and EU asset managers on this topic and there is a clear change of trend for a move to joint payments for investment research.
Mifid II unintentionally cut research budgets, limiting access to differentiated views and hindering performance. Joint payments are seen as a way to restore flexibility and transparency, enabling high-quality research without the operational burdens of past unbundling rules.
Backed by the FCA and ESMA, this initiative strengthens UK and EU capital markets’ global competitiveness at a critical time for the industry.
Momentum is clear – major asset managers and dealing desks are preparing CSA agreements. This change ensures better informed investment decisions and positions UK and EU fund managers to compete on the global stage.
A return to better returns for Active Fund Managers would definitely be on the Christmas list.
Craig Butterworth, chief commercial officer, Droit
In a world where settlement cycles are getting ever-compressed and where the penalties for trade fails and misreporting are getting larger, banks will realise that a change of mindset is critical to enable them to boost operational efficiency whilst keeping them out of the regulator’s spotlight.
Already in 2025, we have seen some of our most forward-looking clients, all global financial institutions, looking at ways in which they can bring regulatory decision-making further upstream – to the point of client onboarding, new product approvals and legal entity booking model design.
By applying a ‘data-first’ approach to regulatory decision-making processes, firms can save huge amounts of technology spend currently allocated to reconciling and remediating the symptoms of incorrect upstream data, such as control breaches, trade breaks and regulatory reporting, to name but a few.
It’s not just technology spend either – banks have whole teams of people dealing with these issues, which is hugely inefficient.
Paul Humphrey, chief executive, BMLL
In 2026, we will witness an irreversible shift in how the industry approaches market data curation and consumption.
The era of accepting poor-quality historical data from real-time incumbents is decisively over. High-quality, granular and reliable data is now the cornerstone for success; even HFT firms are looking at lower frequency strategies to find new sources of alpha.
But beyond this, successful AI-driven trading strategies demand high-quality data that is engineered and ready to use, and clients are increasingly turning to us to help fuel their trading applications.
Secondly, and closely linked, is the strengthening ‘buy-to-build’ trend championed by many of our clients in 2025. Firms increasingly recognise that owning, storing, and cleansing vast datasets is not a differentiator.
This is particularly acute as the number of venues and resulting market data volumes continue to increase, putting pressure on data engineering capabilities. Instead, the competitive edge is defined by what firms build with trusted data.
Thirdly, collaborating to raise the standards for market data quality will take centre stage and drive tangible change.