Investment professionals in the UK find it less of a struggle to stick to ethical standards than in the past, a new study finds as the sector gets ready for MiFID II next year.

Investment industry professionals surveyed recently say they find it less challenging to stick to ethical codes than they did a year ago, a finding that comes before sweeping European regulations to protect clients is due to become law.

The study by CFA UK, showing that 62 per cent of investment professionals said they found it less difficult to adhere to standards. The survey comes as the wealth management sector braces for the Markets In Financial Instruments Directive II, due to take effect from 2018 and which is designed to improve investor protection.

The CFA Society of the UK which represents the interest of nearly 12,000 investment professionals in the UK. The organisation said its survey was designed to reveal attitudes, assess progress and discover the key challenges surrounding ethics and professionalism.

The 62 per cent result has increased from a reading of 50 per cent in 2016. CFA said this result coincides with the tougher legal frameworks put in place in the last decade. The percentage of members who found it difficult to adhere to the ethical codes and standards fell from 24 per cent last year to 14 per cent this year.

CFA also found that majority of its members consider CFA institute’s code and standards regularly. The code is an ethical benchmark for professionals around the globe. 52 per cent said they think about it during their work, whereas only 12 per cent said they only think about when the need arises.

Conflict of interest was also a talking point, as 39 per cent found regulations regarding the area (including the disclosure of conflicts, priority of transactions and referral fees) challenging to them personally during the past year. This represents an increase to last year when professionals selected the areas of professionalism, investment analysis, recommendations and actions as more challenging.

CFA said the change is due partly to the upcoming MiFID II regulations, where firms will be required to examine their ethical processes in much detail to avoid and manage conflicts of interest.

“While this year’s results carry some welcome news, there is still a long way to go,” said Annabel Gillard, chair of CFA UK’s ethics committee. “Our ambition is for investment professionals to be held in the same regard as other professionals such as doctors and lawyers. The survey results suggest that respondents believe we’ve made little progress towards that aim over the past year. Our profession needs to invest in its culture and to demonstrate this clearly to clients and society if we want to change the way that we are perceived.”

WealthBriefing's conference on the MiFID II directive will be held in London on 24 May. For more detail, including how to register, click here.