The FCA Asset Manager Authorisation Hub was launched in October 2017, has a number of new authorisation case workers and a dedicated portal to assist authorisation as an asset manager. Since 1999, Sturgeon Ventures has been here to support new managers during the Incubation Phase where companies work towards being ready for direct authorisation. This phase includes expanding assets under management, building internal back, front and middle office.
Industry News
2018 – MIFID II and PRIIPS for the Fund Industry
The FCA has had a busy Christmas as the Financial Industry focused on launching many changes including MIFID II and PRIIPS for the Fund Industry.
Many firms took this change as a reason to close their UK FCA Regulated Firm and move to the EU now ahead of BREXIT or considering closing their own directly authorised firm and become an Appointed Representative of another Authorised FCA Firm.
Success for RoboCap
Sturgeon Ventures is delighted to read of RoboCap’s success in CityWire’s recent article on “Five alternatives to the Pictet-Robotics fund”.
Jonathan Cohen, Managing Partner of Robocap LLP [Sturgeon Ventures Designated Portfolio Manager] was, approved by the FCA within Sturgeon Ventures, on 22nd December 2015.
MIFID II – Out of the Box Thinking Needed
CONFLICTS OF INTEREST UNDER MIFID II – an enhanced way of thinking… “potential conflicts” let’s help each other build a true Regulatory Ecosystem.
Conflicts of interest is an aspect that is – although necessary for investment firms’ compliance processes – often considered after the event. It is hard to remember in the heat of the action and because it is not always easy to define, it is not the first thing that a commercial team will think about.
The FCA Regulatory Sandbox
Venture Catalysts are not just money invested, but people and time. When Sturgeon Ventures was first born in 1998, it branded itself as a Venture Catalyst, it incubated people and companies across a number of industries; in 2000 the focus began towards financial services and the regulatory incubator was born in early 2000.
BREXIT UPDATE: ESMA ISSUES BREXIT OPINION TO EU REGULATORS 31ST MAY
June 07, 2017
The European Securities and Markets Authority foresees regulatory and arbitrage risks in Brexit and has issued an opinion as a practical tool to help achieve supervisory convergence among EU regulators—Brexit negotiations begin on June 19, and Brexit is scheduled to occur on or before March 30, 2019 unless an extension is agreed.
Major Financial Services Firms Step Up Efforts to Tackle Gender Gap
EMBARGOED UNTIL 00.01 TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER
Major financial services firms step up efforts to tackle gender gap.
Major banks including HSBC UK, Santander, RBS and Lloyds have published ground-breaking gender strategies, committing them to ambitious targets for the number of women they employ in senior roles.
AIFM – Overview Of The UK’s Small Registered AIFM Regime
Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP and Sturgeon Ventures set out an overview of the regulatory regime for a small registered UK AIFM under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive 2011/61/EU.
Spoofing the Order Book: UK and U.S. Regulators Take Aim
William Yonge (Morgan, Lewis & Bockius UK LLP) and Seonaid Mackenzie (Sturgeon Ventures) discuss.
What Is Spoofing?
“Spoofing” is a form of market manipulation in which the trader layers the order book by submitting multiple orders on one side of an exchange’s order book at prices away from the touch in order to move the price but with no intention to execute.
Sturgeon Ventures firm domiciles newest Malta fund
Sturgeon Ventures domiciled a few years ago in 2013, a couple of funds in Malta, and The Maltese Times captured this event. We thought it was a good article to re-highlight Malta as a good fund jurisdiction. Sturgeon has continued to domicile its start-up funds in Malta as self-managed funds which is still a cost effective route for Start-up funds, and albeit they do not have a full European Marketing Passport, they can market into all the countries allowed under National Private Placement as well as the US under the Sturgeon SEC License.
