Fund and asset management · FCA
UK fund and asset management authorisation (FCA)
London remains one of the two deepest asset management centres in the world, and an FCA authorisation is the permission that puts a firm inside it. Since Brexit the UK operates its own versions of the fund manager and investment firm regimes, so it is a market to enter on its own terms rather than a European base.
The regulator
The Financial Conduct Authority assesses fund and asset managers against its threshold conditions and expects named senior individuals to hold personal accountability under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. It scrutinises delegation arrangements closely where portfolio management sits outside the UK entity.
What the licence permits
Regulated under the FCA
- Manage alternative investment funds and authorised funds
- Provide discretionary portfolio management to UK clients
- Advise on investments and arrange deals in them
- Operate from the deepest asset management market in Europe
Who it suits
Managers raising from UK institutional capital, and firms whose investor base treats an FCA permission as the baseline credential.
Market access
Full access to UK investors. Marketing into the EEA requires separate arrangements or a European manager, as the EU passport no longer applies.
What to weigh
The UK is a demanding place to be authorised and an expensive place to maintain substance, but it is where the capital and the talent are. Firms serving European investors will generally need a second entity in the bloc.
We run the United Kingdom application end to end
Whether you build from new or acquire an existing licensed entity, BrokLicense handles incorporation, the regulator application, the AML and compliance framework, safeguarding and banking arrangements, and the operating stack. You stay the principal. We do the work, in confidence, and stay on for compliance once you are live.
Cost, capital, and timelines depend on your model and are set out in a first consultation, under NDA, not published here.
Other permissions in United Kingdom
Related reading
- Fund Manager or Investment Firm? Choosing the Right Asset-Management AuthorisationManaging mandates and managing funds are different regulated activities under different regimes. Applying under the wrong one costs a year and a rejection.
- The MiFID Investment Firm Licence: What the Permissions Actually CoverA MiFID licence is not one permission but a set you choose from. The combination you pick sets your capital, your obligations, and your supervisory weight.
- Licensing an Investment-Management Firm: What Changes When You Manage Other People's MoneyRunning an asset or portfolio manager sits under a different permission than broking. Here is what the licence covers and what regulators expect.
- EU Passporting Explained: One Licence, Thirty MarketsA single EU investment-firm licence works across the whole European Economic Area. Here is how passporting works and why it shapes where firms base.
Fund and asset management in other Europe jurisdictions
- ItalyBanca d'Italia / CONSOB
- GermanyBaFin
- SpainCNMV
- AustriaFMA
- IrelandCentral Bank of Ireland
- SwitzerlandFINMA
Discuss your mandate in confidence
Every engagement begins under a mutual NDA. Set out the firm you intend to operate and the timeline you are working to, and you leave the first consultation with a recommended jurisdiction, the route to the licence, and a defined scope of work.
Prefer email? info@broklicense.com