Since the start of 2025, the FCA has focused on the asset management and wholesale broker sectors, by sharing its supervisory strategy and outlining its expectations with emphasis on the importance of a healthy firm culture and strong governance framework.

Introduction

In this article, we highlight the key takeaways from recent FCA 'Dear CEO' letters and multi-firm reviews impacting the wholesale brokerage and asset management sectors. These publications outline the regulator's supervisory strategy for the coming years and detail the expectations it has for the firms it regulates. In addition to the rules and requirements, we also focus specifically on the actions firms must take to meet the FCA's standards and avoid unwanted regulatory intervention.

Reviewing asset managers and alternatives sector

The FCA addressed asset management and alternatives firms in February 2025 in its latest 'Dear CEO' letter, with the purpose of clarifying its supervisory priorities for the sector. This was built on in March with a further multi-firm review on private market valuation practices, which includes detailed findings and more importantly actions that firms need to implement.

Reviewing the wholesale brokerage sector

The FCA initiated the communication with wholesale brokers sector via a ‘Dear CEO’ letter sent in January 2025, in which it provided feedback on the previous supervisory cycle and discussed its strategy for the next two years. Following this the FCA published the multi-firm review of liquidity risk management at wholesale trading firms in March 2025. This review outlined the good practices that firms should be implementing and similarly the poor practices which need to be rectified.