1This section applies to a common platform firm which provides services to its clients in the course of carrying on regulated activities or ancillary activities or providing ancillary services (but only where the ancillary services constitute MiFID business).2

A common platform firm must take all reasonable steps to identify conflicts of interest between:

1. (1)

   the firm, including its managers, employees and appointed representatives (or where applicable, 2tied agents)2, or any person directly or indirectly linked to them by control, and a client of the firm; or

   2
2. (2)

   one client of the firm and another client;

that arise or may arise in the course of the firm providing any service referred to in SYSC 10.1.1 R.

[Note: article 18(1) of MiFID]

For the purposes of identifying the types of conflict of interest that arise, or may arise, in the course of providing a service and whose existence may entail a material risk of damage to the interests of a client, a common platform firm must take into account, as a minimum, whether the firm or a relevant person, or a person directly or indirectly linked by control to the firm:

1. (1)

   is likely to make a financial gain, or avoid a financial loss, at the expense of the client;

2. (2)

   has an interest in the outcome of a service provided to the client or of a transaction carried out on behalf of the client, which is distinct from the client's interest in that outcome;

3. (3)

   has a financial or other incentive to favour the interest of another client or group of clients over the interests of the client;

4. (4)

   carries on the same business as the client; or

5. (5)

   receives or will receive from a person other than the client an inducement in relation to a service provided to the client, in the form of monies, goods or services, other than the standard commission or fee for that service.

The conflict of interest may result from the firm or person providing a service referred to in SYSC 10.1.1 R or engaging in any other activity.

[Note:

article 21 of MiFID implementing Directive]

A common platform firm must keep and regularly update a record of the kinds of service or activity carried out by or on behalf of thefirm in which a conflict of interest entailing a material risk of damage to the interests of one or more clients has arisen or, in the case of an ongoing service or activity, may arise.

[Note:

article 23 of MiFID implementing Directive]

A common platform firm must maintain and operate effective organisational and administrative arrangements with a view to taking all reasonable steps to prevent conflicts of interest as defined in SYSC 10.1.3 R from constituting or giving rise to a material risk of damage to the interests of its clients.

[Note: article 13(3) of MiFID]

1. (1)

   If arrangements made by a common platform firm under SYSC 10.1.7 R to manage conflicts of interest are not sufficient to ensure, with reasonable confidence, that risks of damage to the interests of a client will be prevented, the firm must clearly disclose the general nature and/or sources of conflicts of interest to the client before undertaking business for the client.

2. (2)

   The disclosure must:

   1. (a)

      be made in a durable medium; and

   2. (b)

      include sufficient detail, taking into account the nature of the client, to enable that client to take an informed decision with respect to the service in the context of which the conflict of interest arises.

[Note:

article 18(2) of MiFID and Article 22(4) of MiFID implementing Directive]

1. (1)

   A common platform firm must establish, implement and maintain an effective conflicts of interest policy that is set out in writing and is appropriate to the size and organisation of the firm and the nature, scale and complexity of its business.

2. (2)

   Where the common platform firm is a member of a group, the policy must also take into account any circumstances, of which the firm is or should be aware, which may give rise to a conflict of interest arising as a result of the structure and business activities of other members of the group.

[Note:

article 22(1) of MiFID implementing Directive]

1. (1)

   The conflicts of interest policy must include the following content:

   1. (a)

      it must identify in accordance with SYSC 10.1.3 R and SYSC 10.1.4 R, by reference to the specific services and activities carried out by or on behalf of the common platform firm, the circumstances which constitute or may give rise to a conflict of interest entailing a material risk of damage to the interests of one or more clients; and

   2. (b)

      it must specify procedures to be followed and measures to be adopted in order to manage such conflicts.

2. (2)

   The procedures and measures provided for in paragraph (1)(b) must:

   1. (a)

      be designed to ensure that relevant persons engaged in different business activities involving a conflict of interest of the kind specified in paragraph (1)(a) carry on those activities at a level of independence appropriate to the size and activities of the common platform firm and of the group to which itbelongs, and to the materiality of the risk of damage to the interests of clients; and

   2. (b)

      include such of the following as are necessary and appropriate for the common platform firm to ensure the requisite degree of independence:

      1. (i)

         effective procedures to prevent or control the exchange of information between relevant persons engaged in activities involving a risk of a conflict of interest where the exchange of that information may harm the interests of one or more clients;

      2. (ii)

         the separate supervision of relevant persons whose principal functions involve carrying out activities on behalf of, or providing services to, clients whose interests may conflict, or who otherwise represent different interests that may conflict, including those of the firm;

      3. (iii)

         the removal of any direct link between the remuneration of relevant persons principally engaged in one activity and the remuneration of, or revenues generated by, different relevant persons principally engaged in another activity, where a conflict of interest may arise in relation to those activities;

      4. (iv)

         measures to prevent or limit any person from exercising inappropriate influence over the way in which a relevant person carries out services or activities; and

      5. (v)

         measures to prevent or control the simultaneous or sequential involvement of a relevant person in separate services or activities where such involvement may impair the proper management of conflicts of interest.

3. (3)

   If the adoption or the practice of one or more of those measures and procedures does not ensure the requisite level of independence, a common platform firm must adopt such alternative or additional measures and procedures as are necessary and appropriate for the purposes of paragraph (1)(b).

[Note: article 22(2) and (3) of MiFID implementing Directive]

This section applies to a common platform firm.

1. (1)

   When a common platform firm establishes and maintains a Chinese wall (that is, an arrangement that requires information held by a person in the course of carrying on one part of the business to be withheld from, or not to be used for, persons with or for whom it acts in the course of carrying on another part of its business) it may:

   1. (a)

      withhold or not use the information held; and

   2. (b)

      for that purpose, permit persons employed in the first part of its business to withhold the information held from those employed in that other part of the business;

   but only to the extent that the business of one of those parts involves the carrying on of regulated activities,2ancillary activities or, in the case of MiFID business, the provision of ancillary services.2

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2. (2)

   Information may also be withheld or not used by a common platform firm when this is required by an established arrangement maintained between different parts of the business (of any kind) in the same group. This provision does not affect any requirement to transmit or use information that may arise apart from the rules in COBS.

   1
3. (3)

   For the purpose of this rule, "maintains" includes taking reasonable steps to ensure that the arrangements remain effective and are adequately monitored, and must be interpreted accordingly.

4. (4)

   For the purposes of section 118A(5)(a) of the Act, behaviour conforming with paragraph (1) does not amount to market abuse.

When any of the rules of COBS or CASS apply to a common platform firm that acts with knowledge, the firm will not be taken to act with knowledge for the purposes of that rule if none of the relevant individuals involved on behalf of the firm acts with that knowledge as a result of arrangements established under SYSC 10.2.2 R.