Assessing MiFID 2 Regulation on Tick Sizes: A Transaction Costs Analysis Viewpoint

Abstract

The new MiFID II regulation put in place in January 2018 has deeply modified the microstructure of European financial market. In particular, new tick size tables have been created, leading to tick size modifications for hundreds of assets. In this work, we investigate the relevance of this new tick size regime for the assets traded on Euronext. To do so, we analyze the changes of transaction costs paid by investors under this new regulation. We find that from this viewpoint, MiFID II clearly induced an improvement of market quality.

Keywords: Tick Sizes, MiFID II, Market Microstructure, Transaction Costs, Liquidity, Uncertainty Zones Model