The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced plans to set up a new hub for easy authorisation of startups foraying into the asset management industry.
Slated to launch next month, the hub will offer firms startups pre-application meetings, dedicated case officers and access to the website portal.
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In a speech at the “FT Investment Management Summit Europe 2017, the FCA’s executive director of supervision for investment Megan Butler, said: “Next year, our intention is to expand the offer to include support, like quarterly surgeries and online booking for pre-application meetings.
“We’ll also publish more detail on entry criteria and application details – so there is a lot of support in the pipeline for new entrants.”
Butler added that the hub is not designed to lower entry standards to the market.
“We have no intention of presiding over a decline in quality. So entrants will need to meet the same rigorous standards as current firms before they receive authorisation,” she noted.
