Compliance Services for Private Equity & Venture Capital Firms

Compliance Services for Private Equity & Venture Capital Firms

Early Phase And Start Up Advice

Private Equity regulated activity in the UK and European Economic Area (EEA) normally requires authorisation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) or the regulator in the country in which the firm's European operations are based. Grainger Consulting is geared up to help. We provide advice and hands on assistance on all the technical and compliance issues related to start up and early phase development.
Fund Structure and Location
Deciding the structure and location of a Private Equity Fund is vitally important as it is likely to have a major impact on the taxation, marketing and regulatory implications. Naturally, we can help our clients to consider the options and obtain any specialist advice required via our network of regulatory, legal and taxation advisers.
Investment Process
Having established the fund structure and location, we will help our clients to document FSA compliant investment processes and procedures. We will ensure they don't overlook any of their regulatory obligations without strangling their business in red tape.
Deal Making
We will help our clients to plan and establish clear and compliant deal making arrangements. We will help them to document the process and ensure the procedures are compliant.
FSA Application

Having helped our clients work through the various regulatory, organisational and operational issues, 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 our clients intend 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 to make 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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