Chances of the UK adopting US FIFO rule?

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Anybody here UK based or hear any rumours about the likelihood of this happeneing?

[JC]

inkexit:

Anybody here UK based or hear any rumours about the likelihood of this happeneing?

We asked the FSA this question last year when the rule was coming into force in the US. They had no plans at that time to do anything similar. And it would in essence be a measure purely for retail forex investors, and that's more or less at the bottom of the FSA's current list of priorities. Particularly because they are - nominally - about to be scrapped, and replaced as a regulatory authority by the Bank of England.

[[Deleted]]

Yes I would think they would try to not have the FIFO rule as long as possible. I'm sure business has grown with UK firms quite a lot since the FIFO rule was put in place. I myself have never traded with a foreign firm (I'm US based) but am currently in the process of switching over to one for this exact reason.

Any idea how the B.O.E. views this?

[JC]

inkexit:

[...] Any idea how the B.O.E. views this?

I can't imagine that they care.

I'm not exactly an expert in this area, but the UK regulatory position on forex needs tidying up elsewhere before they begin to consider things like hedging on retail accounts. In terms of consumer protection, there are more glaring potential problems from people offering managed-account services without registration. Plus the fact that any sale of an EA arguably constitutes financial advice. And then there are other complexities and anomalies such as the regulatory distinction between spot and rolling spot. As I understand it - and I use that term loosely after drowsing for an hour while a compliance consultant talked almost without pausing for breath - forex transactions are unregulated if they are for same-day settlement, but fall under the current regulatory regime if there is a position which is held overnight.

[[Deleted]]

Thanks for your response, JJC. The only thing I'd add is that the FIFO anti-hedging rule wasn't exactly the most needed thing over here in the US either. In fact, it's probably one of the most unessesary changes ever!