Regulatory solutions

A trusted regulated hosting platform with know-how to access European investors – join the MJ Hudson family of Appointed Representatives (ARs).

Becoming authorised directly by the FCA can be a very time consuming process – up to 12 months. Firms are required to demonstrate to the FCA that they have a policy and procedure framework to comply with applicable rules and regulations and that they have sufficient regulatory capital. This may require the firm to procure additional compliance expertise, develop a compliance operating framework from scratch and may reduce the availability of working capital to fund growth.

MJ Hudson provides AR solutions to our clients, enabling them to operate within the regulatory framework quickly and efficiently whilst ensuring cost effectiveness is a key focus point.

Under MJ Hudson’s umbrella, a firm can become authorised as an AR within a matter of weeks and at minimal cost. We have two main objectives:

Business friendly: we are here to help you navigate regulatory complexity and help you do business

Risk management: we seek to reduce the financial and reputational risks of our ARs and the individuals that own and manage them

As a Principal Firm we offer a streamlined and efficient on-boarding process. This gives firms the ability to begin regulated activities as soon as possible. Once on-boarded, MJ Hudson agrees with you a bespoke monitoring programme to ensure compliance with FCA regulations and guidelines applicable to individual ARs. Included within the MJH service and at no extra cost:

• compliance advice and guidance through a dedicated support team;
• training for approved persons;
• software solution to streamline compliance tasks and record keeping;
• review of investment advice and financial promotions; and
• regulatory reporting to the FCA.
• Additionally, our legal experts are available to help with any structuring or shareholder matters and our experienced marketing professionals can provide institutional quality materials to promote your business and/or attract investors.

Choosing MJ Hudson’s Appointed Representative team will give you access to a market leading compliance function that will help you do business whilst mitigating personal and business risks.

Money Laundering Reporting Officers (MLROs) available to meet ever enhancing Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) obligations.

Regulators are constantly enhancing the anti money laundering rules and in recent years these obligations for financial market businesses have expanded from purely identifying clients to carrying out due diligence checks on service providers and investee companies as well as offering regular training to staff.

MJ Hudson has a dedicated team of experienced anti-money laundering reporting officers who currently act as the outsourced MLRO function for fund clients. The MLRO will ensure adequate controls are in place to identify and prevent instances of money laundering. The MLRO is the escalation point for transactions that are deemed to be potentially suspicious.
The service has been designed to lead the way in best market practice and includes:

• suspicious transaction reporting
• oversight of the AML/KYC control environment
• review of service provider reporting
• review of investee company due diligence
• ownership of company AML Policy document
• provision of annual AML training
• annual review of service providers
• review of changes in regulatory requirements
• liaison with regulators
• ultimate responsibility for all MLRO obligations

Fulfil all money laundering obligations and ensure ongoing compliance.

Professional support for your firm seeking FCA Direct Authorisation to carry out Regulated Activities in the UK.

Becoming directly authorised for FCA regulated activities in the UK can be a time consuming and expensive process. MJ Hudson will guide you through this with our expert advice.

Our goal is to make the process less daunting for you.

Our guiding approach is that:

business friendly: we are here to help you navigate regulatory complexity and help you do business

risk management: we seek to reduce the financial and reputational risks by helping you establish compliant policies and procedures.

We will do all the heavy lifting on the FCA Application process based on information you provide to us.

Included within the MJH service and at no extra cost:

• we will advise what regulatory activities the business needs to request permission for and this will determine your scope of permissions;
• we will provide template regulatory documents required to be submitted with the application and work closely with you to ensure it is completed with all the necessary information;
• we will complete all the relevant forms for you;
• we will assist you in preparing supplementary documents required by the FCA such as financial projections, compliance monitoring, etc.;
• we will submit the application to the FCA on your behalf and provide ongoing assistance responding to any queries received from the FCA Case Officer processing your application; and
• we will calculate the regulatory capital amount that needs to be injected and we can, if required, provide a legal opinion on the issuance of the relevant instruments.

Additional services offered:

• we can provide template policy documents for your use to ensure that you manage the firm in a compliant fashion once authorised, as expected by the FCA; and
• we can provide outsourced compliance support to assist you after FCA authorisation has been received.

Choosing MJ Hudson’s FCA authorisation team will save you time and expense. You will benefit from advice and guidance from a market leading team.

Outsource the management of your ongoing compliance and regulatory obligations to our team of experts.

You will be provided with outsourced compliance support from a dedicated Compliance Manager that is supported by a wider internal team of accountants, lawyers, investor relations, risk managers and investment professionals.

Our ongoing and outsourced compliance solution offers you the necessary support to meet your ongoing compliance and regulatory obligations.

Our team will assist you with the following ongoing services:

• compliance monitoring
• board reporting
• regulatory reporting to the FCA
• training of staff
• policy updates
• regulatory news updates
• approved person applications
• ICAAP updates(where applicable)
• technical advice
• regulatory capital monitoring
• review of marketing materials
• complaints handling
• AML support

All the above is supported by RegIQ, our online compliance management system.

We are interested in forming long term relationships with our clients, working hand in hand with you to mitigate your compliance risk whilst helping you do business.

Conduct your business with the confidence that you have met your regulatory data protection obligations.

While many organisations struggle to come to grips with complex data protection legislation and the requirements which apply to them, you can rely on our guidance and support to steer you in the right direction to ensure that you are on the right path. Demonstrating compliance with this key area of law will make you more attractive to clients and investors alike and will build confidence in your brand overall.

MJ Hudson takes a no-nonsense approach to data protection, focusing on providing efficient, timely, client focused advice to suit your business needs. We will consult with you and identify the gaps in compliance within this area and provide you with suggestions to plug the same. Once agreed, we can provide you with template key compliance policies to reflect GDPR standards, such as those detailed below, or conduct gap analysis reviews on your existing polices:

• general data protection policy
• human resources data protection policy
• subject access policy
• data security breach response policy
• acceptable use policy
• social media policy
• bring your own device policy
• data retention policy
• CCTV policy

Other services include data security breach prevention and data breach management, subject access request management, representation to the ICO, international data transfers and advice and support as required.

Our approach will quickly allow you to receive a snapshot of the key areas of data protection within your organisation which require immediate attention and a plan for remediation which we will execute efficiently with your cooperation.

We can provide advice on a wide range of regulatory topics:

• advice on new products and services
• governance
• front office controls
• financial risk management
• financial crime
• prudential
• market abuse
• conduct risk
• client money and assets
• data protection
• financial promotions

Our FCA advisory team can assist with any advice required. Please contact our team (regulatoryadvice@mjhudson.com) for more information.

Design and operationalise regulatory change programmes.

Financial services firms live in a context which is characterised by change. They face complex regulatory environments, and are challenged to interpret, implement and operationalise changes in regulations. Firms need regulatory experts who help them navigating the rules and conduct business in a compliance manner.

Regulatory change just keeps on coming. Our dedicated team of regulatory experts can help firms determine how change will impact their businesses and provide efficient implementation solutions by:

• project management: designing specific regulatory change programmes and mobilising experienced project managers;
• gap analysis: conducting a gap analysis and identify how their existing business model and framework will need to change to comply with the new regulations;
• policy support: offering policy support and updating your policies and procedures or providing suitable tailored templates;
• practical procedures: working with the business to implement effective control structures or new technology; and
• legal opinions: leveraging and engaging with our well-established legal practice who can provide opinions on regulations.
• Areas: SMCR, GDPR, benchmark regulation, LIBOR, MiFID II, cyber security, crypto Regulation, MAR, asset management market study, EMIR, culture and conduct, ESG, CRD V.

Our team will offer pragmatic solutions allowing you to deal with regulatory change effectively and continue doing business in a compliant manner.

Meet regulatory and substance requirements with specialist personnel.

MJ Hudson can provide individuals who are pre-approved by regulators to fulfil certain roles within an AIFM or ManCo. Both to satisfy local substance rules as well as simply provide enhanced infrastructure and support. Such individuals will act as our clients’ internal personnel and fulfil a variety of regulatory and operational roles:

• Compliance Officer
• risk management
• delegated function supervision
• regulatory reporting
• Money Laundering Reporting Officer
• escalation and resolution management

Our designated individuals take a pragmatic and value add approach and seek to ensure that they fulfil the day to day executive management functions for which they are appointed. MJ Hudson seek to improve our clients’ organisational effectiveness whilst allowing them to scale up their businesses, satisfy their regulatory obligations and maintain sufficient substance in local jurisdictions where portfolio management is delegated out of country.

Our specialist and pre-approved personnel are there to improve local compliance and infrastructure.