On 6 November 2025, the long-awaited “SFDR 2.0” has finally surfaced in a leak and, as many in the market expected, it represents a major reset of Europe Union’s (“EU”) sustainable finance framework. The proposal, still in draft form from the European Commission, aims to simplify the original Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (“SFDR”). Yet for
FinReg Monthly Update
Welcome to the FinReg Monthly Update, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation.
Key developments in October 2025:
Financial Advice / Wealth Management
31 October – FCA Consolidation Review: The UK Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) published its findings following a multi-firm review of consolidation in the…
FCA Review on Consolidation in the Financial Advice and Wealth Management Sector
Overview
The UKs Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) today published its multi-firm review of consolidation across the UK financial advice and wealth management sector.
For private equity sponsors, this is the clearest statement yet of how the regulator intends to supervise buy-and-build models. The FCA has not introduced new rules, but it has drawn a line…
Glass Lewis Abandons Benchmark Voting Policies
By Frank Zarb & Louis Rambo on
Glass Lewis, one of the two large proxy advisory firms to institutional investors, announced earlier this month that it would no longer employ standardized “benchmark” voting policies, but instead customize policies on a client-by-client basis. It explained the shift by citing “[r]apid advances in technology, especially AI, that are enabling highly customized approaches to voting,”…
European Parliament Rejects “Omnibus” Negotiating Mandate on CSRD and CSDDD Simplification
On 22 October 2025, the European Parliament voted against adopting a negotiating mandate on the European Commission’s Omnibus Directive – a proposal to simplify and streamline sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations under the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (“CSRD”) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (“CSDDD”).
The vote was narrowly…
Dos and Don’ts for CCOs: How You Can Avoid Firm and Personal Liability for Wholesale Compliance Failures
By Nathan Schuur & Corey I. Rogoff on
In July 2025, the SEC settled charges against the Chief Compliance Officers (CCOs) of two investment advisers that involved backdating compliance documents and attempting to conceal these fabrications from examiners. The settlements imposed civil monetary penalties for both officers as well as a three-year bar for the more severe violation.
These actions reinforce a lesson…
AIFMD 2.0: What’s To Come With Six Months To Go
With six months to go, fund managers should be ramping up their preparations for complying with the legislative changes to EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”), commonly referred to as “AIFMD 2.0”, which will come into effect on 16 April 2026. The majority of the changes will apply to EU authorised alternative investment fund…
Time to Switch: UK Moves to a Single Sanctions List by January 2026
On October 13, 2025, the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (“FCDO”), the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (“OFSI”) and His Majesty’s Treasury (“HM Treasury”) confirmed that from January 28, 2026, the UK Sanctions List (“UKSL”) will be the single official source of United Kingdom (UK) sanctions designations.
European Parliament Takes Next Step to Reduce Scope of CSRD
On 8 October 2025, the European Parliament’s Socialists and Democrats (S&D) group ultimately accepted the European People’s Party (EPP)’s position on the Omnibus Directive, which revises the scope of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD).
Trilogue Negotiations
The next step is for the…
FCA Starts Consultation on UK Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme
On 7 October 2025, the FCA published a consultation paper (the “Consultation”) on an industry-wide scheme to compensate motor finance customers who were treated unfairly between 2007 and 2024 (the “Motor Finance Consumer Redress Scheme”). The FCA has also set out steps and its expectations before finalisation of the Motor Finance…