What meeting room AV do financial services firms need?

Financial services meeting room AV is shaped by MNPI handling (material non-public information), MIFID II Article 16 call recording obligations and integration with market data desktops (Bloomberg, FactSet, Refinitiv). The spec varies sharply by sub-sector: a Tier-1 investment bank, a hedge fund, a retail bank HQ and a wealth manager all brief the same room differently.

Retail bank HQ client meeting rooms typically use a single platform-agnostic VC bar with BYOD switching, ceiling microphones and a 75 to 86 inch display. Compliance pressure here is lighter than on the dealing floor, but call recording and retention obligations under FCA SYSC still apply where investment advice is given. Tier-1 investment bank partner / MD offices look different. Single-occupant offices on the deal-making floors get a dedicated VC bar and lapel microphone, with strict MNPI room protocol: directional ceiling microphones, no third-party AI transcription bots (Otter, Fireflies, Read AI typically blocked at the network layer), in-tenant Microsoft Teams Premium or Cisco Webex AI Assistant only. Hedge fund deal rooms mirror the private equity model, with two to four monitor analyst desks for Bloomberg and FactSet sitting alongside the VC stack.

Wealth managers sit between retail and institutional. Client meeting rooms tend to be hospitality-grade with discreet AV, executive joinery, and recording on by default for suitability evidence under MIFID II. The spec is closer to a law firm partner meeting room than a trading floor.

Two design constants cut across all sub-sectors. Bloomberg terminal placement: where rooms are used for trading or analyst work, Bloomberg, FactSet and Refinitiv positions need dedicated power, KVM and uninterrupted UPS-backed circuits separate from the AV stack. Recording governance: any room used for investment advice, client orders or dealing under MIFID II Article 16 needs the recording chain encrypted end to end, the storage location explicit, and 5-year retention documented. We map this into the meeting room AV design phase as a deliverable rather than an afterthought.

Quick reference: retail bank client room (BYOD, 75-86 inch display, lighter compliance), Tier-1 IB partner office (MNPI protocol, no third-party AI bots, in-tenant transcription only), hedge fund deal room (Bloomberg / FactSet integration, multi-monitor desks), wealth manager client room (executive joinery, MIFID II recording on by default).