Complying With FCA’s Supervision Priorities
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently communicated with firms in the Asset Management and Alternatives sector to build on the supervisory direction set in early 2024. As the UK continues to lead as Europe’s largest and the world’s second-largest asset management hub, the FCA is emphasising the need for firms to adapt to a rapidly evolving landscape. With growing interest in private credit, infrastructure, and innovative retail investment products, firms are expected to enhance governance structures, tighten valuation practices, and reinforce risk management.
This year’s priorities include:
- Supporting confident investing in private markets
- Building firm and financial system resilience against market disruption
- Securing positive outcomes for consumers
In addition to these core areas, the FCA will carry out targeted initiatives aimed at strengthening trust in sustainable investments and tackling financial crime and market abuse. These efforts highlight the regulator’s continued focus on safeguarding market integrity and enhancing investor protection across the financial system.
What the FCA Is Watching
- Private Markets: Rapid growth in this area means firms must ensure valuations are accurate, governance is strong, and conflicts of interest are well managed.
- Market Integrity & Disruption: The FCA is increasing its surveillance of liquidity risk, operational resilience, and responses to market stress, especially for firms with high leverage or concentrated strategies.
- Consumer Outcomes: Under the Consumer Duty, firms are expected to demonstrate that they are delivering fair value and helping consumers meet their financial goals.
- Sustainable Finance: New disclosure and labeling requirements are in place to ensure ESG products do what they claim—and that firms avoid greenwashing.
- Financial Crime & Market Abuse: Firms must be vigilant in detecting, preventing, and reporting financial crime, especially as investment structures become more complex.
How StarCompliance Can Help
StarCompliance (Star) is a trusted partner to financial services firms navigating global employee compliance challenges. In the UK, our platform helps firms align with evolving FCA expectations by offering:
- Employee Conflict of Interest tools that enable firms to manage employees across a wide array of activities from Personal Trading and Crypto Trading to Outside Business Activities and Insider Trading Detection.
- MNPI and Enterprise Conflict Management tools to ensure transparency and oversight in private market activities.
- MNPI (Material, Non-Public Information) and MAR (Market Abuse Regulation) Management to help firms meet their financial crime obligations with confidence.
- Star’s Conflict Search API enables fast, secure discovery of potential conflicts across internal and external systems by providing customisable, lightweight data access without requiring formal system integration.
- Consumer Duty Resources that supports the delivery of fair value and helps demonstrate good consumer outcomes.
- Visit our Asset Managers Hub to learn how Star’s solutions can help your team streamline compliance workflows.
Supporting SMCR Compliance Today and Tomorrow
Our platform also includes a purpose-built SMCR solution, designed specifically for the UK regulatory environment. It streamlines responsibility mapping, certification tracking, and compliance oversight—helping firms stay aligned with the FCA’s Senior Managers & Certification Regime (SMCR) and any future regulatory developments.
With Star, firms can stay compliant, minimise risk, and adapt confidently to an evolving regulatory landscape. Want to learn more? Schedule a personalized demo here.
Riding the Regulatory Wave
