Strategic Clarity and Supervisory Confidence
A Fair Warning on the FCA’s 2025–2030 Strategy Executive Summary This white paper captures the perspectives of compliance and finance professionals from UK investment and capital markets firms in response to the FCA’s 2025–2030 Strategy. Insights were drawn from a series of structured confidential interviews led by Ellis Wilson. The paper reflects lived experience andRead more >
Quarterly FCA Compliance Update: Key Themes, Q3 2025
For investment managers and brokers navigating today’s regulatory climate. Ellis Wilson tracks FCA regulatory news and enforcement cases monthly to help our clients and friends stay ahead of the regulatory agenda. In case you’ve missed it, here’s a summary of key FCA news and actions from the last quarter. 1. Regulatory Reporting: Guidance for LLPsRead more >
Bond and Derivatives Transparency: What Investment Firms Need to Know Before 1 December 2025
The FCA is pressing ahead with its overhaul of post-trade transparency for non-equity markets. Following the finalisation of its proposals in Policy Statement PS24/14, new rules will come into force on 1 December 2025 under the revised UK MiFIR framework. These reforms reshape how MiFID investment firms must disclose trade information in fixed income andRead more >
FCA’s Wholesale Markets Liquidity Review: Firm Approach Still Needed
Why This Matters The FCA’s latest Multi-Firm Review of Liquidity Risk Management highlights the increasing complexity of liquidity risks faced by wholesale trading firms. Market shocks—including margin calls, settlement failures, and underestimated concentration risks—have exposed gaps in firms’ ability to anticipate and respond to liquidity stress. While many firms were found to have proportionate andRead more >
FCA Reviews Private Market Practices at Face Value
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its findings from a multi-firm review of private market valuation practices. As private markets continue to expand—serving as a key source of investment diversification and corporate financing—the FCA is scrutinizing valuation processes to ensure they remain robust, fair, and aligned with investor interests. This review does not suggestRead more >
FCA Supervisory Strategy To Probe Private Equity and MPS
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued its supervisory priorities for asset management and alternative firms over the next 12 months. Their letter highlights key areas of regulatory focus and potential risks that the FCA expects firms to discuss at board and senior management level. Who Should Be Paying Attention? The FCA’s priorities are notRead more >
Pre-trade equities consolidated tape: White Knight or White Elephant?
The FCA commissioned Europe Economics to evaluate the potential impacts of implementing a pre-trade equities consolidated tape in the UK. The report, here, explores whether a CT could address issues such as market fragmentation, high data costs, and limited transparency in the UK’s equity markets. However, it also raises critical concerns about the costs, risks,Read more >
Investment managers give FCA qualified support
The annual FCA and Practitioner Panel Survey report published October 2024, provides detailed feedback on the FCA’s performance from regulated firms across the UK financial services industry. This summary focuses on the experiences of Investment Management and flexibly supervised firms, those who are “not allocated a named individual supervisor”. It summarises their observations on theirRead more >
FCA flexes sustainability deadline for some
The FCA has introduced temporary flexibility measures for firms dealing with the Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR), specifically relating to naming and marketing rules for sustainability products. In Scope Activities These measures apply to UK-authorised investment funds that use the terms ‘sustainable’, ‘sustainability’, or ‘impact’ (or variations of these) in their names and are seeking toRead more >
FCA Enforcement Against UK Audit firms
In August 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) took enforcement action against two prominent auditing firms—PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) and MacIntyre Hudson LLP (MHA)—highlighting the growing scrutiny on external auditors’ roles in ensuring compliance with financial regulations. Similarities in FCA Actions Both cases underscore the FCA’s commitment to holding external auditors accountable for failing to meetRead more >
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