05/03/2021 (Agence Europe) – The GameStop case which whipped Wall Street into a frenzy at the end of January (see EUROPE 12664/17), revealed the discrimination and conflicts of interest faced by retail investors in the stock markets, said BETTER FINANCE in a press release published on Thursday 4 March. According to Guillaume Prache, the organisation’s Managing Director, the protection of retail investors should be at the forefront of any possible response to prevent such a situation from occurring in Europe. In particular, it calls on the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) to consider the potential problems of market manipulation and conflicts of interest associated with online brokerage apps and payments for order flows, which were used in the GameStop case. In addition, the organisation asks ESMA to consider banning payments for order flows as partof the upcoming revision of the MiFID II Directive. (MF)