Best Execution & Order Handling: Monitoring, Governance & Evidence (Self Paced) [SP0309]
Strengthen MiFID II best execution compliance through effective monitoring, execution-policy governance and audit-ready regulatory evidence.
A practical self-paced course exploring how investment firms design, implement, monitor and review best execution arrangements, assess execution quality and demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.
✓ Understand MiFID II best execution obligations and the regulatory responsibilities associated with different investment services. ✓ Evaluate execution policies, venue-selection arrangements and execution-quality monitoring controls. ✓ Strengthen governance, exception management and evidence supporting compliance and regulatory reviews.This professional 3-CPD self-paced course delivers a comprehensive framework for strengthening MiFID II best execution compliance, monitoring and governance. Participants will explore the regulatory requirements of Articles 27 and 28, covering execution-policy design, venue-selection oversight, execution-quality monitoring, cross-asset controls and the development of audit-ready regulatory evidence. Designed for compliance officers, risk managers, internal auditors and investment firm management, this course connects regulatory obligations with practical governance and monitoring methodologies, enabling professionals to identify execution weaknesses, strengthen supervisory oversight and prepare for evolving EU regulatory expectations.
Table of Contents
- About the Course
- Why Take This Best Execution & Order Handling?
- Key Learning Objectives
- Course Curriculum
- Meet the Trainer
- FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
- Fees & Registration Details
About the Course
Best execution is a fundamental investor-protection requirement under MiFID II. Investment firms executing client orders must take all sufficient steps to achieve the best possible result for clients, taking into account relevant execution factors and the circumstances of each order.
However, meeting this obligation requires more than establishing an execution policy. Firms must maintain effective governance arrangements, monitor execution quality, evaluate execution venues, investigate unusual outcomes and retain evidence demonstrating that their arrangements operate effectively.
This course examines best execution and order-handling requirements under MiFID II Articles 27 and 28, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565 and the applicable Cyprus regulatory framework.
It provides a structured approach to understanding execution policies, venue-selection decisions, monitoring methodologies, conflicts of interest, regulatory documentation and escalation procedures.
Particular attention is given to the oversight responsibilities of compliance officers, risk managers, internal auditors, dealing supervisors and senior management.
Participants examine practical monitoring examples across financial instruments, including ETFs, bonds, derivatives and CFDs, and consider how firms can prepare for future developments in execution-policy standards.
Through practical examples, decision frameworks and an integrated control-room case study, the course develops the knowledge needed to evaluate the effectiveness of an investment firm’s best execution arrangements.
How to Monitor and Evidence MiFID II Best Execution Compliance
Effective best execution monitoring requires a structured process that connects regulatory requirements, execution data, governance decisions and supporting documentation.
Investment firms should establish monitoring arrangements appropriate to their activities, client types, instruments and execution methods.
Monitoring may involve assessing execution prices, transaction costs, fill rates, delays, slippage, outliers and other relevant indicators.
Where poor or unusual execution outcomes are identified, firms should investigate the underlying causes, consider client impact and document appropriate corrective actions.
A defensible monitoring framework should demonstrate not only that monitoring was performed, but also how findings were assessed, escalated and addressed.
Why Take This Best Execution & Order Handling?
Having an execution policy does not, by itself, demonstrate that an investment firm consistently acts in its clients’ best interests.
Regulators expect firms to apply effective execution arrangements, monitor outcomes, identify deficiencies and maintain evidence supporting their policies and decisions.
This course helps you:
Strengthen regulatory understanding
Understand MiFID II best execution and order-handling requirements and the responsibilities associated with different investment services. To see how execution policies align with product approval and investor classification, explore our module on MiFID II Product Governance & ESMA Target Market Mastery (SP0306).
Improve execution governance
Evaluate execution policies, venue-selection methodologies, ownership arrangements and review processes. To ensure dealing desk activities are monitored for front-running or order-book manipulation alongside execution quality, refer to our course on Market Abuse & Dealing Desk Behaviour (SP0307).
Develop effective monitoring
Understand how to assess execution quality using relevant indicators, benchmarks and exception analysis.
Build audit-ready evidence
Identify the documentation needed to support compliance monitoring, internal audit and supervisory reviews. Directors can also explore broader governance responsibilities in our Board Governance, Conduct & Digital Resilience for Cyprus Investment Firms (SP0308) course.
Prepare for regulatory developments
Recognise future changes affecting execution arrangements and identify areas requiring further preparation. For professionals seeking live interactive training that covers combined product governance and execution requirements, consider our live workshop Best Execution & Product Governance: Compliance Essentials for Financial Services [H1059], or explore our complete Financial Regulation Self-Paced Courses section.
Develop the knowledge to assess best execution controls, identify regulatory weaknesses and support effective, evidence-based governance.
Key Learning Objectives
By completing this course, participants will be able to:
Distinguish the obligations associated with execution, RTO and proprietary trading.
Identify the key elements of effective execution arrangements and venue-selection methodologies.
Understand how execution priorities differ according to client category, instructions and financial instruments.
Interpret execution-quality information, identify outliers and recognise recurring weaknesses.
Understand the records and documentation needed to support defensible monitoring conclusions.
Identify appropriate responsibilities, reporting processes, remediation actions and future readiness considerations.
Course Curriculum
- MiFID II Articles 27 and 28
- Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/565
- Cyprus investment firm regulatory framework
- Execution, RTO and dealing on own account
- Mapping regulatory obligations to investment services
- Service-classification examples and decision matrices
- Price, costs, speed, likelihood, size and nature
- Total consideration for retail clients
- Execution-factor weighting for professional clients
- Specific client instructions
- Remaining best execution obligations
- OTC price-fairness assessment and supporting evidence
- Essential execution-policy requirements
- Execution-venue and broker-selection criteria
- Governance responsibilities and policy ownership
- Single-venue arrangements and supporting evidence
- Conflicts of interest
- Periodic policy review and remediation
- Developing execution-quality monitoring arrangements
- Defining relevant monitoring indicators
- Assessing prices, costs and slippage
- Identifying outliers and recurring weaknesses
- Risk-based monitoring and review frequency
- Documenting monitoring findings and control effectiveness
- Evidence requirements for best execution
- Transaction records and market data
- Preserving execution and venue-selection decisions
- Investigating adverse execution outcomes
- Root-cause analysis and client impact
- Escalation, remediation and supporting audit trails
- Differences in execution characteristics across asset classes
- ETF liquidity and venue-selection considerations
- Bond market liquidity and execution factors
- Derivative execution and monitoring challenges
- CFD execution and pricing considerations
- Adapting monitoring controls to different instruments
- Distinguishing current requirements from future regulatory developments
- Developments in execution-policy standards
- Implications for monitoring and governance
- Reviewing existing execution arrangements
- Identifying documentation and control gaps
- Preparing practical regulatory readiness actions
- Applying regulatory requirements to a practical scenario
- Identifying relevant investment services and obligations
- Evaluating execution policies and venue-selection arrangements
- Assessing monitoring evidence and exceptions
- Identifying governance weaknesses
- Preparing documented escalation and remediation conclusions
Meet the Trainer
Fees & Registration Details
FAQs – Frequently Asked Questions
Best execution requires investment firms executing client orders to take all sufficient steps to obtain the best possible result for clients, considering the relevant execution factors and regulatory requirements.
Best execution standards and order handling rules are supervised locally by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and coordinated across Europe under technical standards set by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).
No. Firms must also implement, monitor and review their execution arrangements and retain appropriate evidence supporting their effectiveness.
Best execution monitoring involves reviewing relevant execution-quality information, identifying unusual or adverse outcomes, investigating weaknesses and assessing whether execution arrangements remain effective.
Yes. The curriculum includes practical scenarios involving ETFs, bonds, derivatives and CFDs.
Yes. The course places particular emphasis on monitoring arrangements, regulatory documentation, governance responsibilities, escalation and evidence supporting compliance and internal audit reviews.
Yes. It includes a dedicated module addressing regulatory developments and future readiness, distinguishing these from current MiFID II obligations.
This course focuses on execution-policy governance, compliance monitoring and regulatory evidence. Best Execution in Practice for Dealers focuses on transaction-level execution decisions, order routing, slippage and dealer responsibilities.
The course provides six months of online access from enrolment.