By: Kai Zhang and Andrew Massey
Following a multi-firm review of sustainability reporting, the FCA has announced that it is considering how to streamline and enhance the UK’s sustainability reporting framework by simplifying disclosures, easing unnecessary compliance burdens, improving the decision-usefulness of reporting and promoting international alignment.
Read MoreBy: Zainab Kuku, Philip Morgan, and Andrew Massey
As part of the UK government’s strategy to boost the competitiveness of the UK financial services sector and support growth, the overall burdens of the Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR) are to be reduced “by 50%”.
Read MoreBy: Michael E. Ruck, Rosie Naylor, Jordan Hawthorne, and Laura Scott
We discussed in an earlier blog that the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority has axed proposed “name and shame” rules, retaining only an ability to make a public announcement about an investigation in “exceptional circumstances”. It has now published a revised Enforcement Guide which also details three specific circumstances in which it may make an announcement:
Read MoreBy: Laura Price and Kai Zhang
Acknowledging “longstanding concerns from firms about the length and complexity of [its] rules and guidance”, the UK’s FCA published a call for input in July 2024. It invited firms to comment on whether some FCA rules may be unnecessary following introduction of the outcomes-based Consumer Duty. It has now outlined its proposed approach in a Feedback Statement, explaining that its aims are to achieve more flexibility, more predictability, and improved efficiency. The approach includes:
Read MoreBy: Michael Ruck and Rosie Naylor
In November 2024, the UK FCA released a Consultation which seeks to clarify its proposed approach to publicising ongoing enforcement action—dubbed the “name and shame” plan—and to assure the wider market of the plan’s benefits. Responses are due by 17 February 2025.
Read MoreBy: Phillip Morgan, Andrew Massey, and Raghu Meena
In the United Kingdom, the FCA has proposed to give fund managers (including UCITS Mancos and full-scope UK AIFMs) an option to use fund assets to pay jointly for execution and research (so-called ‘bundled’ payments). The existing options of paying for research from manager funds or operating a customer-financed research payment account would remain. Final rules are expected in the first half of 2025. This follows the introduction on 1 August 2024 of a similar option for separate account managers as discussed here.
By: Kai Zhang, Philip J. Morgan, Andrew J. Massey, and Hazel Doyle
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published its final rules for the UK’s Overseas Funds Regime (OFR) (see our prior blogs here and here which discuss eligibility and the expected OFR launch timetable).
Read MoreBy: Philip Morgan, Andrew Massey, and Omega Modi
An anti-greenwashing rule comes into force in the UK on 31 May 2024. This is the first part of the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements.
Read MoreBy: Andrew Massey, Philip Morgan, and Omega Modi
The UK’s FCA has published consultation paper 24/7: Payment optionality for investment research. It proposes a new, more flexible, way to charge third-party investment research to clients.
The new payment option would sit alongside the two existing options under which research costs are either paid by firms from their own resources or charged to clients through a research payment account. The latter approach has not been popular because of its operational complexities, so research has been an out-of-pocket expense for many UK asset managers.
Read MoreThe FCA has published its final rules on the UK’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR) regime. The key features include:
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