Financial Conduct Authority

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If 2021 was the year in which regulators and investors enthusiastically embraced environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) considerations, by creating new legal and regulatory frameworks, then 2022 will be the year for asset managers to identify and confront the practical challenges of integrating legal requirements and stakeholder expectations into investment policy and performance.

Proskauer’s Asset Management Litigation partner Dorothy Murray recently authored an article on litigation risks of SPACs.

Dorothy details why the recent popularity of this latest incarnation of so-called “blank cheque” companies will inevitably lead to disputes, and the reasons are all connected to the very features that make SPACs so…

One driver for the first widely adopted cryptocurrency Bitcoin was to create a store of value that existed outside of government control. It is therefore no surprise that attempts to regulate the rapidly developing crypto asset market have required great efforts from regulators and legislators around the world to keep apace.

In this blog, we compare key drivers and results of the regulatory approach being taken in the US and UK. While the U.S. is leading the way on the enforcement of crypto regulations, the UK has taken greater steps in relation to banking approvals. With regard to tax treatment, the position is becoming much clearer in both jurisdictions.

Just as U.S. regulators are wrestling with the question of how to regulate cryptocurrencies and digital assets, as reported here, the same questions are being asked in the UK. Some have been answered with refreshing clarity; some remain much more opaque.

As with any new technology or asset, there are different spheres of legal and regulatory influence to consider. At the most basic, what is it? (a.k.a. Can I steal it? And can I recover it?). The next level is typically regulatory – Who regulates it? How it is regulated? How are the public and markets protected?

How any jurisdiction answers these questions will have a material impact on the way private firms and others within the asset management industry deal with, and consider potential investments in, crypto assets.

With 46% of UK business reporting a cyber attack during 2019/2020 and 32% reporting at least one a week – see the UK Government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey 2020 – the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) has issued a timely warning to market participants of increasing cyber security threats in the wake of COVID-19.

The Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has significant implications for the asset management industry globally, forcing both sponsors and investors to consider the immediate impact on their investments, and to re-prioritize both immediate and longer term issues.  In the United Kingdom, the Financial Conduct Authority (“FCA”) issued a series of communications to firms to address the impact of COVID-19 on the industry. Despite complexities caused by COVID-19, the FCA warns in its recently published 2020/21 Business Plan that it will remain vigilant to potential misconduct and reminds firms that where it finds poor practice, “[it] will clamp down with all relevant force”.