The unexpected revelation that the revised Markets in Financial Instruments Directive might be delayed for a year gave beleaguered asset managers an early Christmas. Outside finance, few may care, but if the European Union had enforced Mifid II from January 2017 as planned, chaos was likely.

But where does that leave one of Mifid II's most difficult reforms for asset managers, the unbundling of commissions from research payments? It throws some contentious issues back into the political arena. The delay should trigger a rethink on the least useful bits of this troubled European directive.