The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has signalled plans to review its client categorisation regime to expand opportunities for wealthy and highly experienced investors while supporting capital markets activity and broader economic growth. The review sits within a wider package of FCA growth reforms, with 10 initiatives delivered since January and around 50 expected to be completed by the end of the year. Client categorisation rules are intended to protect retail clients without unduly restricting professional clients, and the FCA’s review aims to ensure expectations remain proportionate when dealing with wealthy or very experienced investors, particularly in wholesale markets. The FCA highlighted completed initiatives including steps to improve mortgage access by reminding lenders of flexibility in interest rate stress testing, the launch of the PISCES private stock market to facilitate trading in private shares, the Digital Securities Sandbox developed with the Bank of England, and an extension of its pre-application support service to wholesale, payments and cryptoassets firms, with 80 firms supported through pre-application meetings over the last year. Work underway includes changes to prospectus rules, removing unnecessary data reporting, and simplifying and consolidating investment firm capital rules with a stated aim of cutting legal text by 70%, building on listings regime reforms introduced last year. The FCA said it will consult later this year on elective professional client categorisation. Its Secondary International Competitiveness and Growth Objective report is to be published alongside the annual report and related publications, subject to being laid in Parliament.

Original source View in tracker