The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK has proposed a set of reforms for the asset management sector, aiming to lower compliance costs and improve supervision.
Most of the estimated £128m ($171.3m) in annual savings will be driven primarily by simplified Fund Reporting for Asset Management Entities (FRAME) frameworks.
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Customised for the UK industry, these updates will provide better data to enhance oversight, noted the watchdog.
The proposals cover rules linked to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, with revisions to provisions that have been in place since 2013.
Under the plans, the framework would be updated for current market conditions, with an approach intended to be “more flexible, tailored and proportionate”, added the regulator.
This will be done while keeping standards in place, particularly where firms deal with retail investors, it added.
Alongside this, the watchdog has opened a consultation on pay rules for firms regulated only by the FCA.
It is considering removing overlapping remuneration codes and replacing them with a single framework intended to be clearer and more proportionate, while preserving safeguards and standards.
The regulator is seeking responses to the proposals before reaching its final decisions.
FCA markets executive director Simon Walls said: “By tailoring the regime for UK asset managers, we can collect better data while also saving industry 10s of millions of pounds a year.
“With a sharp focus on proportionality, we can particularly boost freedom for smaller firms to find new ways to achieve the same high standards.
“Together, the proposals are a practical example of the FCA’s strategy in action: becoming a smarter regulator, which is more efficient and effective, using proportionate data collection to better identify risk.”
