As the operator of a fund or the owner of a wealth and asset manager, you will be very familiar with managing complex rules and regulations. The regulatory environment for wealth and asset management and private equity firms have changed in recent years. Post-Brexit several new regulations have been introduced, including Investment Firms Prudential Regime (IFPR), Consumer Duty and, more recently, Sustainability Disclosure Requirements. The regulatory landscape in this industry will continue to evolve as the FCA works through a process of repeal or replacement of the assimilated EU laws derived from UCITS, AIFMD and MIFID II, to facilitate international competitiveness and growth for the UK economy.
The unique requirements of the wealth and asset management sector means that you need access to specialists with the experience to support you. Our specialist Wealth and Asset Management team provides a full range of assurance and advisory services, ranging from external statutory audits and CASS audits, through to internal audits, structuring advice and tax services, as well as expert advice on the complex issues faced by firms.
Our experts can support individuals and businesses ranging from start-ups to larger well-established groups, both listed and privately owned.
Our clients include wealth managers, asset managers, private equity firms, venture capital, broker/dealers and alternatives, such as FX/CFD businesses.
Our London team works closely with our international colleagues – particularly in Dublin, Luxembourg, New York and Switzerland – to offer an integrated international approach that delivers real value.
External audits and CASS audits
In the UK, the wealth and asset management industry plays a crucial role in safeguarding and growing the financial resources of individuals, institutions and corporations. With over £11 trillion in mainstream assets under management and £2 trillion of alternative assets, the sector is vital to the country’s economy. However, due to the complexity and scale of its operations, regular and robust audits are essential to ensure compliance, accuracy and trust.
We provide external audits for a range of businesses, from sole owner businesses to large complex groups with multiple jurisdictions. We also provide audit services for funds, such as UCITS, PE and VC funds.
Additionally, our specialist team offer CASS audits, both reasonable and limited assurance. We can provide assurance services and advise on firms’ CASS control environments in accordance with the FCA’s Client Asset Sourcebook.
Other specialist expertise
Our tax specialists draw on their extensive sector-specific knowledge to help with tax issues and structuring considerations. They have extensive knowledge of the wealth and asset management sector, and understand the importance of compliance and planning, and what this means for our clients.
Our Business Solutions team can assist firms with the preparation of regulatory returns and maintenance of accounting finance functions. This allows your firm to focus on business, knowing that your outsourcing part, or all, of your regulatory and financial reporting are with a team of experts who are familiar with the sector and the regulations under which your firm operates.
As part of good governance and in maintaining the three lines of defence, internal audit provides assurance to management and boards that systems and controls are in place and that they mitigate the risks businesses face. Our Internal Audit team will support you either on an outsourced or co-sourced basis.
We also have a specialist Valuations team who will support you in arriving at the right value. Whilst many businesses may appear to be similar, they can have vast differences, some of which are qualitative and not easily captured in a formula but are nevertheless key factors which influence value. Our Audit and Valuations teams will invest time to understand your portfolio, investment strategy and the nature and dynamics of the individual investment. We use benchmarking data, analytical tools and our expertise to spot counterintuitive trends and to help validate key inputs.
ESG and sustainability are increasingly important for wealth and asset managers and the landscape is constantly evolving with regulatory developments, shifts in stakeholder expectations and political dynamics. In particular, the disclosure and reporting requirements have become increasingly burdensome for asset managers as a result of the FCA’s Sustainability Disclosure Requirements (SDR), with further developments expected when the UK adopts Sustainability Reporting Standards based on the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) IFRS S1 and S2 standards. Our ESG team helps firms to navigate the reporting requirements and provides limited assurance over ESG disclosures.
Our Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS) team provide a wide range of accounting advice, assistance with implementation of new accounting standards, transaction support and technical training services to support your business in an increasingly demanding financial reporting environment.
Our Transaction Services experts work across the wealth and asset managers space including consolidators, investors and independents alike. The team will work with you to identify and manage the risks, in particular value changes and red flags. The team’s sector expertise means they can get to the heart of the matter quickly to facilitate timely reporting to ensure a smooth transaction.
