In the evolving landscape of financial services, there have been reports that the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has recently classified FNZ, a prominent wealth management platform provider, as a ‘co-manufacturer’ of financial products. This designation carries significant regulatory implications, underscoring the critical role of product governance in ensuring consumer protection and market integrity.

Understanding the

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Background

On 14 November 2024, the United Kingdom’s Chancellor of the Exchequer delivered a speech setting out the UK Government’s vision to grow and enhance the competitiveness of the financial services sector (the “Speech”).

The key measures discussed in the Speech are summarised below, broadly split into two categories – investment and reform.

On October 28, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued final regulations (“Final Rule”) implementing Executive Order 14105, which addresses investments by U.S. persons in certain identified technologies in “Countries of Concern”, including The People’s Republic of China, The Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, and The Special Administrative Region of Macau. The regulations will go into effect on January 2, 2025.

On 11 November 2024, the Financial Reporting Council (“FRC”) launched a consultation with significant updates proposed to the UK Stewardship Code (the “Code”).   The aims of the consultation are to streamline reporting requirements and reduce burdens for signatories whilst ensuring there is a clearer purpose of the Code and the outcomes…

On 24 October 2024, the European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA“) released its 2024 European Common Enforcement Priorities (“ECEP“) for corporate reporting, drawing particular attention to sustainability and taxonomy-related disclosures. With the backdrop of Europe’s ambitious climate objectives and the growing impact of environmental, social, and governance (“ESG“) factors…

The recent ESMA Final Report on the Guidelines for funds’ names using ESG or sustainability-related terms (the “Guidelines”) marks a critical moment for asset managers. These Guidelines aim to clarify when the use of ESG or sustainability-related terms in fund names may be deemed unfair, unclear or misleading. The Guidelines introduce minimum asset allocation thresholds…

UPDATE: On 19 November 2024, the Council of the EU issued a press release confirming it had adopted the EU Ratings Regulation.  The next step is that the Regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and enter into force 20 days later – applying 18 months after is entry into force.…

On 1 November 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) updated its sustainability disclosure and labelling regime website and added detailed examples of pre-contractual disclosures to its Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (“SDR“) guidance. The SDR and investment labels regime enters into force on 2 December 2024 and firms have been able to use investment labels…

The FCA’s Climate Financial Risk Forum has published a paper on “Nature-related Risk: Technical Data Guidance for Financial Institutions” (the ‘‘Paper’’).

What does the FCA’s Paper cover?

The Paper serves as a useful summary of the potential relevance of nature on financial institutions and covers the following fundamental concepts:

  • The nature data landscape;
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Welcome to the Regulation Round Up, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK and EU financial services regulation.

Key developments in October 2024:

31 October

ESG: The Transition Plan Taskforce (‘‘TPT’’) published its final report (Progress Achieved and the Path Ahead: The Final Report of the Transition Plan Taskforce)…