The FCA has published a speech by Megan Butler, FCA Executive Director of Supervision – Investment, Wholesale and Specialists at the FCA, entitled Where next for investment and asset management regulation?

Points of interest include:

• the FCA is reviewing the responses to its final report on the asset management market study and is preparing a second consultation on transparency-related aspects such as benchmarking, performance reporting and, if needed, objectives and the all-in-fee;
• the FCA is setting up an asset management authorisation hub to support new entrants to the market. The establishment of the hub is not designed to lower entry standards to the market. The hub will assist asset management start-ups as they move between pre-authorisation and authorisation, and on to regular supervision. The FCA is launching phase one of the hub in November 2017 – at which point it will offer new firms pre-application meetings, dedicated case officers and access to a website portal;
• the FCA sees personal accountability as fundamental to the future of financial services. Firms are encouraged to respond to the FCA’s consultation on the extension of the senior managers’ regime which closes on 3 November 2017;
• the FCA recognises that MiFID II’s new reporting requirements do place an onus on firms. But from the FCA’s perspective, there are two pressing priorities for industry: (i) the FCA expects firms to submit suspicious transaction and order reports in line with their obligations under the Market Abuse regime. In addition, the FCA expects forms to make sure their systems and controls are deterring market abuse; and (ii) legal entites that want tot rade under MiFID II will need a legal entity identifier;
• the FCA will provide support to asset managers – where it can – to resolve significant MiFID II business planning issues. The FCA knows, for example, that research continues to pose a challenge.

View FCA speech considers developments in investment and asset management regulation, 28 September 2017