The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID I), which came into effect in 2007, is a pan-E.U. regime for regulating financial markets.  It covers areas such as the conduct of business and organizational requirements for investment firms, authorization requirements for regulated markets, regulatory reporting, trade transparency and rules for admission of financial instruments to trading.  The recast directive (MiFID II) and related regulations (MiFIR), which will change MiFID I in several significant respects, were adopted by the European Parliament in May 2014 and will take effect in January 2017.  A recent program presented by the Hedge Fund Law Report and Advise Technologies offered a comprehensive overview of the proposed changes to MiFID I.  Moderated by William V. de Cordova, editor-in-chief of the HFLR, the program featured Jeanette Turner, a managing director at Advise Technologies, and Simon Whiteside, a partner at Simmons & Simmons.  This article, the first in a two-part series, conveys insights from the panel on the impact of MiFID II on private funds; the legislative and regulatory status of MiFID II; inducements, soft dollars and research; conflicts of interest; information and reporting; best execution; recordkeeping; and product governance.  The second article in this series will address access to E.U. markets by non-E.U. firms; direct electronic access; investment advice; transaction reporting; transparency reporting; commodities; trading venues; and preparation for MiFID II.  For a discussion by Turner of the MiFID II implementation process and new transaction reporting requirements, see “MiFID II Expands MiFID I and Imposes Reporting Requirements on Asset Managers, Including Non-E.U. Asset Managers,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 8, No. 21 (May 28, 2015).  For other collaborations between the HFLR and Advise Technologies, see also “Simmons & Simmons, PwC and Advise Technologies Share Lessons Learned from January 2015 AIFMD Annex IV Filing (Part Two of Two),” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 8, No. 8 (Feb. 26, 2015); and “HFLR-Advise Technologies Panel Explores AIFMD Marketing and Annex IV Reporting Requirements,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Jan. 15, 2015).