With the long-feared Mifid II regulation hurtling towards the industry, firms have less than seven months to get their houses in order.

The new rules are shining a light on the $20bn investment research industry, demanding research be priced, monitored, quality assessed, billed and reported. But the industry is currently a sprawling mess, with research relationships between the sellside and buyside spread over thousands of daily emails, analyst meetings and individual calls.