Industry News

Regulation – supporting vibrant markets: a speech by Martin Wheatley, CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority, 2 June 2015

by Emma Cleveland|30 June 2015|Industry News

In his speech at the Future of Financial Services event in London, Mr Wheatley discusses how innovation, competition and regulation can be effectively managed to benefit both consumers and businesses. Mr Wheatley argues that we need effective regulation that protects consumers but which doesn’t stifle innovation, because innovation creates competition in business which is beneficial to […]

Investment Association – Statement of Principles

by Emma Cleveland|27 May 2015|Industry News

On 28 April 2015, the Investment Association published their Statement of Principles for Investment Managers. The Principles aim to set out behaviours which go beyond the regulatory requirements of “treating consumers fairly” by seeking to “represent a culture of excellence for investment managers in helping clients succeed in their financial goals”.

Multilateral Trading Facilities – Good practice observations and finalised guidance on the MTF Rulebook

by Emma Cleveland|26 May 2015|Industry News

An MTF, even though sometimes referred to as ‘male-to-female’, for the purpose of this article means Multilateral Trading Facility. MTFs are non-exchange financial trading venues which are often used as alternatives to traditional stock exchanges.

How to avoid £126 million FCA fines

by Emma Cleveland|26 May 2015|Industry News

On 14 April 2015 the FCA published a notice against two subsidiaries of Bank of New York Mellon Group, referred to as “the Firms”, issuing them with a record financial penalty of £126,000,000 for failing to comply with the FCA Client Assets Sourcebook (Custody Rules, or CASS), which applies to safe custody assets and to […]

Key benefits of using Irish Collective Asset-management vehicles

by Emma Cleveland|12 May 2015|Industry News

Shortly after the enactment (Feb/March 2015) of the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle Bill 2014 (the “Bill”) and innovative investment vehicle called an Irish Collective Asset-Management Vehicle (“ICAV”) will be made available. ICAVs are tailor made corporate fund vehicles for both UCITs and AIFs which provide a pro-active approach to meeting the evolving needs of fund […]

How to make “Financial Promotions” in social media

by Emma Cleveland|21 April 2015|Industry News

On 13 March 2015 the FCA published its guidance on financial promotions in social media. In the FG15/4 Social media and customer communications guidance paper, the FCA discusses how firms can use social media in a manner that is compliant with regulatory rules. Below is an overview of the regulator’s guidance and findings:

A discussion on the use of the dealing commission regime

by Emma Cleveland|26 March 2015|Industry News

On 19 February 2015, the FCA published its FS15-01 Feedback Statement as a response to the DP14/3 Discussion Paper. The Feedback Statement is part of the regulator’s work of examining firms using dealing commission and in particular, the charges that are being paid by consumers when investment managers execute trades and acquire external research on […]

Bank of England speech on key points from responses to FEMR consultation

by Emma Cleveland|17 March 2015|Industry News

On 24 February 2015 the Bank of England (BoE) published a speech by Andrew Hauser, Director of Market Strategy at the BoE and head of the Fair and Effective Markets Review (FEMR) secretariat. The speech was aimed at identifying the key issues raised in the FEMR consultation concluded in January 2015 regarding the fairness and […]

FCA fund authorisation and supervision update

by Emma Cleveland|4 March 2015|Industry News

The FCA has recently produced an update on improvements on fund authorisation, supervision and reporting agreements with trustees and depositaries. We set out below what the update covers:

ESMA proposed guidelines on AIFMD assets segregation

by Emma Cleveland|24 February 2015|Industry News

Since the adoption of the AIFMD, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) has produced a range of material relating to the application of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive such as technical advice, guidelines, regulatory technical standards and Q&As. On 1 December 2014, ESMA published a consultation paper with proposed guidelines regarding asset segregation […]