A client consulted us on their application for investment firm registration with the FCA. Initially we were asked to provide a comprehensive summary of the overall regulatory requirements for the specific regulated business. We then helped to draft the application and to collate the documentation the clients needed to support the application. We then advised on the control function roles and the SMCR implications as well as FCA fees and likely timescales for the application.
The client’s key concern was to ensure that they did not omit to provide any information that could lead to a delay in the application. Our firm worked with the client to complete the application form, helping them to draft accurate responses to applicable parts of the form and ensuring that the senior management team fully understood the obligations and responsibilities that stem from a successful registration. We also worked with the client’s in-house legal and compliance teams to develop and then draft suitable policies and procedures and to recruit, where necessary, additional appropriately qualified employees to satisfy the FCA that all their requirements were being properly addressed. Authorisation was achieved within the client’s deadline requirements and the client was able to trade in accordance with its business plan.