The legal and regulatory landscape that governs capital markets firms has seen unprecedented reform in recent years. Changes include the enactment of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 following Brexit, the introduction of ESG, the Consumer Duty, and a complete overhaul of the UK capital markets framework to list a few.  

Capital markets have seen the introduction of fundamental changes to the way the sector must conduct business. These changes are set to persist as the FCA and UK government continue to distance themselves from EU law, increase supervision and heighten scrutiny. Capital markets firms face many challenges in correctly interpreting and implementing complex regulation. 

How Complyport can help?

We have over 22 years’ experience helping firms understand and comply with complicated regulations. Lending services providers we support include:  

• Broker dealers / Stockbrokers 
• Wholesale markets dealers 
• Proprietary traders 
• Algorithmic traders 
• Investment banks 
• Corporate finance 
• Benchmarks and benchmark administrators 
• Exchanges and trading platforms 
• Financial market infrastructures   

At Complyport we have been able to utilise our specialist knowledge of compliance, regulation, and due diligence to offer our support to the capital markets sector to navigate the increasingly complex regulatory environment. Now more than ever, utilising a trusted advisor to guide firms and provide clarity can be a great asset for firms. Our capital markets service offering includes:

• Drafting and implementing bespoke and firm-specific regulatory policies and procedures. 
• Assisting with financial reporting and prudential requirements, drafting the required documentation, and assisting you with submitting your RegData returns.  We can also guide you on the preparation of complex documents such as your ICARA, Recovery Plan, Wind-down and Pillar III Disclosures. 
• Developing anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) frameworks including the mandatory annual business wide risk assessments which is required under regulations. 
• Implementation of the Consumer Duty rules to ensure firm-wide compliance with those firms that are in scope.  
• Assistance with the implementation of ESG rules to ensure firm-wide compliance with the recently introduced framework. 

• Delivering training in person or virtually to staff and senior management to satisfy the FCA’s training requirements. 
• Appointing a new Senior Manager or certified person in line with SM&CR requirements or making changes to existing persons. 
• Guidance in ensuring financial promotions approval processes remain compliant with regulations, including approving the content of marketing and advertising. 
• Providing regulatory guidance to help you understand what regulatory permissions and registrations you require. We can also help undertake Variations of Permissions applications and assist in liaising with the FCA.  
• Prepare and project manage your firm’s FCA authorisation and registration. This includes drafting the application and supporting documents such as the Regulatory Business Plan; engaging with the firm and the FCA throughout the application process, drafting and implementing policies and procedures. 
• Providing targeted compliance support for newly authorised firms to help you understand your regulatory obligations. 
• Ongoing advisory services for ad-hoc questions or queries that may arise in the natural course of business.