Compliance For Investment Broker / Dealer Firms

Compliance Services For Investment Broker / Dealer Firms

Early Phase And Start Up Advice

Grainger Consulting advises firms who provide investment broker/dealing (stockbroking) services in the private client or institutional sectors. We provide advice and hands on assistance on all the technical and compliance issues related to start up and early phase development.
Investment Management
Many broker/dealer firms also provide in-house investment management. Having established the investment management or service structure and location, we will help our clients to design and implement compliant investment management processes and procedures. We will ensure they don't overlook any of their regulatory obligations without strangling their business in red tape.
Dealing Arrangements
We will help our clients to plan and establish clear and compliant dealing arrangements. We will help them to cater, as required, for private or institutional clients. We will also ensure procedures reflect discretionary, advisory or execution only dealing, as appropriate. We will help them to document the process and ensure the procedures are compliant.
Back Office Administration
Where back office or settlement administration is outsourced, we will review the relationships between service providers and consider any oversight and control obligations that may arise. We will ensure our clients are aware of any compliance requirements and that these are implemented.
Back Office Controls
Where their firm is responsible for back office compliance oversight, we will ensure that flexible but robust monitoring procedures are established. We aim to ensure there are no regulatory breaches so our clients can concentrate on their business.
FSA Application

Having helped our clients work through the various regulatory, organisational and operational issues involved in setting up a business, we will assist them in preparing their application for authorisation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). We will provide hands-on support and guidance.
Compliance Manual
A key part of the FSA application is the drafting of a Compliance Manual and a Compliance Monitoring Plan. We will carry out a Compliance Risk Assessment and design a Compliance Monitoring Plan to control and mitigate those risks. We will then document it within a user friendly Compliance Manual.
Authorisation Process

We will not simply file an FSA application and then forget it! Instead we will liase closely with the FSA Authorisation Team and monitor the progress of an application. In general, because we insist on getting applications "right first time", our experience has been that our hands-on approach ensures applications are processed relatively smoothly.
ISD* Passport Applications

If the client intends to market their fund or services outside the United Kingdom, it is likely they will need regulatory authorisation or clearance from the relevant regulator in the countries concerned. Under the European Union (EU) Single Market initiative, it is possible to obtain an ISD Passport (on a cross-border Service or a Branch basis) into any or all of the EEA** countries. This avoids the need for individual regulatory clearance or authorisation in those countries for which Passports are granted. We will assist them in making any ISD Passport or regulatory application required.
*Investment Services Directive (ISD) issued by the European Union.
**The European Economic Area (EEA) countries are the 25 EU Member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Periodic Reports And Notifications

Once authorised and regulated by the FSA or by a host regulator under an ISD Passport, the client will be required to file various periodic reports and notices with the FSA and any relevant regulator in countries for which ISD Passports are held. These can be complex and confusing. We will remind our clients when they are due and assist them in completing and filing them where required.
External Compliance Monitoring

We assist our clients in a very practical way by helping them carry out the regular compliance risk and resource assessments necessary to demonstrate the required level of senior management control of their business. We will then help them to implement appropriate compliance monitoring programmes supplemented by regular external monitoring by Grainger Consulting. This ensures that internal monitoring is robust and provides good quality control.
Bulletins And Timely Reminders

The reporting requirements for the FSA and other relevant regulators can be confusing and onerous. We produce a bespoke summary of requirements for each of our clients. We then issue timely reminders to them for each item requiring a report or notification.
There is a continuing stream of regulatory material that firms must read and digest in order to ascertain whether it is likely to have an impact upon their business. Grainger Consulting will help by producing regular short, reader friendly bulletins, which summarise issues or news so our clients can decide whether further investigation is required. Additionally we will produce in depth analysis as required for major regulatory developments.
Regulatory Consultancy

Firms frequently face business decisions where an incorrect or incomplete grasp of the rules can result in actions that have serious regulatory implications. We will help by being available to attend and contribute to senior management discussions relating to major issues. We will consider the business objective and advise the optimum action to achieve it in a compliant fashion. We frequently help our clients to get key decisions right first time.
Liaison With Regulators

On a significant number of occasions we assist our clients by handling, on their behalf, discussions or consultations with the FSA and other regulators. Sometimes we are able to do so on a "no names" basis. This enables us to explore issues and clarify what will or will not be acceptable to a regulator.
Financial Resources Monitoring

We frequently assist our clients to understand how to structure their financial resources to meet regulatory requirements and to monitor to ensure they remain compliant. We also have a great deal of experience in helping firms to structure the financial resources required by a regulator for their business. In particular, we have often assisted clients to avoid locking-in capital unnecessarily.

Grainger Consulting, Quantum House, 32 Mellor Road, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire, SK8 5AU, United Kingdom

Phone 0161 486 1000

E-mail cheadle@compliance.co.uk

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