IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/reaccs/v25y2020i3d10.1007_s11142-020-09545-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of MiFID II on sell-side analysts, buy-side analysts, and firms

Author

Listed:
  • Bingxu Fang

    (University of Toronto)

  • Ole-Kristian Hope

    (University of Toronto
    BI Norwegian Business School)

  • Zhongwei Huang

    (University of London)

  • Rucsandra Moldovan

    (Concordia University)

Abstract

This paper provides early but broad empirical evidence on MiFID II, which requires investment firms to unbundle investment research from other costs they charge to clients. Employing difference-in-differences matched-sample research designs with firm fixed effects, we find a decrease in the number of sell-side analysts covering European firms after MiFID II implementation, particularly for firms that are less important to the sell-side. However, research quality improves; specifically, individual analyst forecasts are more accurate and stock recommendations garner greater market reactions. In addition, sell-side analysts seem to cater more to the buy-side after MiFID II by providing industry recommendations along with stock recommendations. Importantly, we predict and find evidence that buy-side investment firms turn to more in-house research after MiFID II implementation. Equally interesting, buy-side analysts increase their participation and engagement in earnings conference calls, compared to the control group. We find some evidence that stock-market liquidity decreases post MiFID II.

Suggested Citation

  • Bingxu Fang & Ole-Kristian Hope & Zhongwei Huang & Rucsandra Moldovan, 2020. "The effects of MiFID II on sell-side analysts, buy-side analysts, and firms," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 855-902, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:25:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11142-020-09545-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11142-020-09545-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11142-020-09545-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11142-020-09545-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ernst Fehr & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1999. "A Theory of Fairness, Competition, and Cooperation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 114(3), pages 817-868.
    2. Brown, Lawrence D. & Call, Andrew C. & Clement, Michael B. & Sharp, Nathan Y., 2019. "Managing the narrative: Investor relations officers and corporate disclosure✰," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 58-79.
    3. Brown, Lawrence D. & Call, Andrew C. & Clement, Michael B. & Sharp, Nathan Y., 2016. "The activities of buy-side analysts and the determinants of their stock recommendations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 139-156.
    4. François Derrien & Ambrus Kecskés, 2013. "The Real Effects of Financial Shocks: Evidence from Exogenous Changes in Analyst Coverage," Post-Print hal-00852356, HAL.
    5. Bradshaw, Mark & Ertimur, Yonca & O'Brien, Patricia, 2017. "Financial Analysts and Their Contribution to Well-Functioning Capital Markets," Foundations and Trends(R) in Accounting, now publishers, vol. 11(3), pages 119-191, December.
    6. Michael Rebello & Kelsey D. Wei, 2014. "A Glimpse Behind a Closed Door: The Long‐Term Investment Value of Buy‐Side Research and Its Effect on Fund Trades and Performance," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 52(3), pages 775-815, June.
    7. Amihud, Yakov, 2002. "Illiquidity and stock returns: cross-section and time-series effects," Journal of Financial Markets, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 31-56, January.
    8. Harrison Hong & Marcin Kacperczyk, 2010. "Competition and Bias," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(4), pages 1683-1725.
    9. Ohad Kadan & Leonardo Madureira & Rong Wang & Tzachi Zach, 2009. "Conflicts of Interest and Stock Recommendations: The Effects of the Global Settlement and Related Regulations," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(10), pages 4189-4217, October.
    10. Grossman, Sanford J & Stiglitz, Joseph E, 1980. "On the Impossibility of Informationally Efficient Markets," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 393-408, June.
    11. Jennifer S. Conrad & Kevin M. Johnson & Sunil Wahal, 2001. "Institutional Trading and Soft Dollars," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 56(1), pages 397-416, February.
    12. Edelen, Roger M. & Evans, Richard B. & Kadlec, Gregory B., 2012. "Disclosure and agency conflict: Evidence from mutual fund commission bundling," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(2), pages 308-326.
    13. Kenneth Merkley & Roni Michaely & Joseph Pacelli, 2017. "Does the Scope of the Sell-Side Analyst Industry Matter? An Examination of Bias, Accuracy, and Information Content of Analyst Reports," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 72(3), pages 1285-1334, June.
    14. Kadan, Ohad & Madureira, Leonardo & Wang, Rong & Zach, Tzachi, 2012. "Analysts' industry expertise," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(2), pages 95-120.
    15. Michael Firth & Chen Lin & Ping Liu & Yuhai Xuan, 2013. "The Client Is King: Do Mutual Fund Relationships Bias Analyst Recommendations?," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(1), pages 165-200, March.
    16. Jarrad Harford & Feng Jiang & Rong Wang & Fei Xie, 2019. "Analyst Career Concerns, Effort Allocation, and Firms’ Information Environment," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(6), pages 2179-2224.
    17. Mitchell A. Petersen, 2009. "Estimating Standard Errors in Finance Panel Data Sets: Comparing Approaches," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(1), pages 435-480, January.
    18. Fama, Eugene F. & French, Kenneth R., 1997. "Industry costs of equity," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 43(2), pages 153-193, February.
    19. Merton, Robert C, 1987. "A Simple Model of Capital Market Equilibrium with Incomplete Information," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 42(3), pages 483-510, July.
    20. Chen, Yong & Kelly, Bryan & Wu, Wei, 2020. "Sophisticated investors and market efficiency: Evidence from a natural experiment," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 138(2), pages 316-341.
    21. Bryan Kelly & Alexander Ljungqvist, 2012. "Testing Asymmetric-Information Asset Pricing Models," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 25(5), pages 1366-1413.
    22. Frankel, Richard & Kothari, S.P. & Weber, Joseph, 2006. "Determinants of the informativeness of analyst research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1-2), pages 29-54, April.
    23. R. Preston McAfee & John McMillan & Michael D. Whinston, 1989. "Multiproduct Monopoly, Commodity Bundling, and Correlation of Values," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 104(2), pages 371-383.
    24. Michael J. Jung & M. H. Franco Wong & X. Frank Zhang, 2018. "Buy‐Side Analysts and Earnings Conference Calls," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 56(3), pages 913-952, June.
    25. François Derrien & Ambrus Kecskés, 2013. "The Real Effects of Financial Shocks: Evidence from Exogenous Changes in Analyst Coverage," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 68(4), pages 1407-1440, August.
    26. Clement, Michael B., 1999. "Analyst forecast accuracy: Do ability, resources, and portfolio complexity matter?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(3), pages 285-303, July.
    27. Jacob, John & Lys, Thomas Z. & Neale, Margaret A., 1999. "Expertise in forecasting performance of security analysts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 51-82, November.
    28. Joshua D. Angrist & Jörn-Steffen Pischke, 2009. "Mostly Harmless Econometrics: An Empiricist's Companion," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 8769.
    29. Cheng, Yingmei & Liu, Mark H. & Qian, Jun, 2006. "Buy-Side Analysts, Sell-Side Analysts, and Investment Decisions of Money Managers," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 51-83, March.
    30. Cowen, Amanda & Groysberg, Boris & Healy, Paul, 2006. "Which types of analyst firms are more optimistic?," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(1-2), pages 119-146, April.
    31. Avner Shaked & John Sutton, 1982. "Relaxing Price Competition Through Product Differentiation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 49(1), pages 3-13.
    32. Michael Raith, 2008. "Specific knowledge and performance measurement," RAND Journal of Economics, RAND Corporation, vol. 39(4), pages 1059-1079, December.
    33. Michael A. Goldstein & Paul Irvine & Eugene Kandel & Zvi Wiener, 2009. "Brokerage Commissions and Institutional Trading Patterns," Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 22(12), pages 5175-5212, December.
    34. Bradley, Daniel & Gokkaya, Sinan & Liu, Xi & Xie, Fei, 2017. "Are all analysts created equal? Industry expertise and monitoring effectiveness of financial analysts," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 179-206.
    35. Harold Mulherin, J., 2007. "Measuring the costs and benefits of regulation: Conceptual issues in securities markets," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 13(2-3), pages 421-437, June.
    36. Liu, Mark H., 2011. "Analysts’ Incentives to Produce Industry-Level versus Firm-Specific Information," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 757-784, June.
    37. Armen Hovakimian & Ekkachai Saenyasiri, 2014. "US Analyst Regulation and the Earnings Forecast Bias around the World," European Financial Management, European Financial Management Association, vol. 20(3), pages 435-461, June.
    38. Jonathan Clarke & Ajay Khorana & Ajay Patel & P. Rau, 2011. "Independents’ day? Analyst behavior surrounding the Global Settlement," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 7(4), pages 529-547, November.
    39. Green, T. Clifton & Jame, Russell & Markov, Stanimir & Subasi, Musa, 2014. "Broker-hosted investor conferences," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(1), pages 142-166.
    40. Corwin, Shane A. & Larocque, Stephannie A. & Stegemoller, Mike A., 2017. "Investment banking relationships and analyst affiliation bias: The impact of the global settlement on sanctioned and non-sanctioned banks," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(3), pages 614-631.
    41. Brian J. Bushee & Michael J. Jung & Gregory S. Miller, 2011. "Conference Presentations and the Disclosure Milieu," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 1163-1192, December.
    42. Boris Groysberg & Paul Healy & George Serafeim & Devin Shanthikumar, 2013. "The Stock Selection and Performance of Buy-Side Analysts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 59(5), pages 1062-1075, May.
    43. Frey, Stefan & Herbst, Patrick, 2014. "The influence of buy-side analysts on mutual fund trading," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 442-458.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Chung, Sung Gon & Kulchania, Manoj & Teo, Melvyn, 2021. "Hedge funds and their prime broker analysts," Journal of Empirical Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C), pages 141-158.
    2. Stolowy, Hervé & Paugam, Luc & Gendron, Yves, 2022. "Competing for narrative authority in capital markets: Activist short sellers vs. financial analysts," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    3. Dmitry Bazhutov & André Betzer & Francois Brochet & Markus Doumet & Peter Limbach, 2023. "The Supply and Effectiveness of Investor Relations in Insider- vs. Outsider-Oriented Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 69(1), pages 660-683, January.
    4. Zhongwei Huang & Thomas Jeanjean & Daphne Lui, 2023. "Analyst independence and earnings management," Journal of Business Finance & Accounting, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(3-4), pages 598-621, March.
    5. Anselmi, Giulio & Petrella, Giovanni, 2021. "Regulation and stock market quality: The impact of MiFID II provision on research unbundling," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    6. Galanti, Sébastien & Leroy, Aurélien & Vaubourg, Anne-Gaël, 2022. "Investment and access to external finance in Europe: Does analyst coverage matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    7. Di Maggio, Marco & Egan, Mark & Franzoni, Francesco, 2022. "The value of intermediation in the stock market," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(2), pages 208-233.
    8. Guo, Yifeng & Mota, Lira, 2021. "Should information be sold separately? Evidence from MiFID II," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(1), pages 97-126.
    9. Joana Almeida & Raquel M. Gaspar, 2023. "Portfolio Performance of European Target Prices," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-28, July.
    10. Marius Cristian Miloș, 2021. "Impact of MiFID II on the Market Volatility—Analysis on Some Developed and Emerging European Stock Markets," Laws, MDPI, vol. 10(3), pages 1-11, June.
    11. Hope, Ole-Kristian & Huang, Zhongwei & Moldovan, Rucsandra, 2021. "Wall Street analysts as investor relations officers," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Pacelli, Joseph, 2019. "Corporate culture and analyst catering⁎," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 120-143.
    2. Tim Martens & Christoph J. Sextroh, 2021. "Analyst Coverage Overlaps and Interfirm Information Spillovers," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(4), pages 1425-1480, September.
    3. T. Bourveau & A. Garel & P. Peter Joos & A. Petit-Romec, 2024. "When attention is away, analysts misplay: distraction and analyst forecast performance," Post-Print hal-03844012, HAL.
    4. Call, Andrew C. & Sharp, Nathan Y. & Shohfi, Thomas D., 2021. "Which buy-side institutions participate in public earnings conference calls? Implications for capital markets and sell-side coverage," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    5. Altınkılıç, Oya & Balashov, Vadim S. & Hansen, Robert S., 2019. "Investment bank monitoring and bonding of security analysts’ research," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(1), pages 98-119.
    6. Michael Drake & Peter Joos & Joseph Pacelli & Brady Twedt, 2020. "Analyst Forecast Bundling," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(9), pages 4024-4046, September.
    7. Dang, Chongyu & Foerster, Stephen & Li, Zhichuan (Frank) & Tang, Zhenyang, 2021. "Analyst talent, information, and insider trading," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Blankespoor, Elizabeth & deHaan, Ed & Marinovic, Iván, 2020. "Disclosure processing costs, investors’ information choice, and equity market outcomes: A review," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(2).
    9. Yuyan Guan & Congcong Li & Hai Lu & M. H. Franco Wong, 2019. "Regulations and Brain Drain: Evidence from Wall Street Star Analysts’ Career Choices," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(12), pages 5766-5784, December.
    10. Tiana Lehmer & Ben Lourie & Devin Shanthikumar, 2022. "Brokerage trading volume and analysts’ earnings forecasts: a conflict of interest?," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 441-476, June.
    11. Chen, Tao & Harford, Jarrad & Lin, Chen, 2015. "Do analysts matter for governance? Evidence from natural experiments," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(2), pages 383-410.
    12. Lin, Mei-Chen, 2023. "Analyst coverage and the idiosyncratic skewness effect in the Taiwan stock market," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    13. Akyol, Ali C. & Qian, Yiming & Yu, Frank, 2023. "How do experienced analysts improve price efficiency?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    14. Jin, Han & Mazouz, Khelifa & Wu, Yuliang & Xu, Bin, 2023. "Can star analysts make superior coverage decisions in poor information environment?," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    15. Daniel Bradley & Sinan Gokkaya & Xi Liu, 2020. "Ties That Bind: The Value of Professional Connections to Sell-Side Analysts," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(9), pages 4118-4151, September.
    16. Steven Crawford & Wesley Gray & Bryan R. Johnson & Richard A. Price, 2018. "What Motivates Buy-Side Analysts to Share Recommendations Online?," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(6), pages 2574-2589, June.
    17. Marcet, Francisco, 2017. "Analyst coverage network and stock return comovement in emerging markets," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 1-27.
    18. Nicholas Hallman & John S. Howe & Wei Wang, 2023. "Analyst coverage and syndicated lending," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(3), pages 1531-1569, September.
    19. Michael S. Drake & James R. Moon & Brady J. Twedt & James D. Warren, 2023. "Social media analysts and sell-side analyst research," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 28(2), pages 385-420, June.
    20. Chan, Jesse & Lin, Steve & Yu, Yong & Zhao, Wuyang, 2018. "Analysts’ stock ownership and stock recommendations," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 476-498.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    MiFID II; Financial services; Sell-side analysts; Buy-side research; Unbundling; Hard dollar; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G00 - Financial Economics - - General - - - General
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • G30 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - General
    • G34 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Mergers; Acquisitions; Restructuring; Corporate Governance
    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • K00 - Law and Economics - - General - - - General (including Data Sources and Description)
    • L50 - Industrial Organization - - Regulation and Industrial Policy - - - General
    • M10 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Administration - - - General
    • M20 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Business Economics - - - General
    • M40 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - General
    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M48 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • M49 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Other

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:reaccs:v:25:y:2020:i:3:d:10.1007_s11142-020-09545-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.