FCA-Regulated Firms Recruitment

Specialist senior recruitment for UK FCA and PRA-regulated firms

We support across the full risk, compliance, financial crime, regulatory reporting, and operational resilience function — including SMCR senior management functions, controlled functions, certified persons, conduct rules staff, the established compliance and risk leadership population, and the emerging specialist roles created by recent regulatory developments including the Consumer Duty, the operational resilience framework, the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act for cross-border firms, the CASS regime evolution, and the third-party risk management framework

UK financial services regulation has expanded substantively over the past decade in both scope and operational demand. The Senior Managers and Certification Regime, introduced for banking in 2016 and extended to all FSMA-authorised firms in December 2019, fundamentally reshaped accountability for senior individuals at FCA and PRA-regulated firms. The Consumer Duty, in force from 31 July 2023 for new and existing products and from 31 July 2024 for closed products, raised the substantive standards that retail-facing firms must meet on consumer outcomes. The operational resilience framework under PRA SS1/21 and FCA SYSC 15A required firms to identify important business services, set impact tolerances, and demonstrate resilience by 31 March 2025. The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act, which entered into application on 17 January 2025, applies to UK firms with EU operations through several routes. The CASS regime continues to evolve with substantial supervisory engagement on client money and custody assets protection. The third-party risk management framework has tightened across both UK regulatory expectations and the new FSMA section 312L Critical Third-Party regime designating critical service providers to the financial sector.

Each of these regulatory developments has created or expanded specialist roles requiring substantive prior experience in the relevant framework. The market for substantively experienced compliance, risk, financial crime, regulatory reporting, operational resilience, DORA, CASS, and third-party risk leaders has tightened materially as the population of UK regulated firms requiring these roles has grown faster than the supply of substantively experienced candidates. Boards, Heads of Risk, Heads of Compliance, and HR teams at FCA-regulated firms increasingly find that generic financial services recruitment provides limited support for the specific senior specialisms these roles require, and that effective placement depends on recruiter understanding of the relevant frameworks at sufficient depth to assess candidate substance rather than candidate framework familiarity.

FD Capital Recruitment specialises in senior placements into UK FCA and PRA-regulated firms across the full risk, compliance, financial crime, regulatory reporting, and operational resilience function. Our team has substantive engagement with the SMCR framework, the Consumer Duty, operational resilience under SS1/21 and SYSC 15A, the EU DORA framework for cross-border firms, the CASS regime including SMF18 appointments, and the third-party risk management framework including the FSMA s312L Critical Third-Party regime. Adrian Lawrence FCA personally screens candidates for senior specialist mandates given the technical depth these appointments require.

Call 020 3287 9501 or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk for an immediate FCA-regulated firm recruitment requirement.

Our network covers banks, building societies, asset managers, wealth managers, broker dealers, insurance firms, payment institutions, e-money firms, electronic trading platforms, crypto firms, consumer credit firms, mortgage firms, and the broader UK regulated firm population. Adrian Lawrence FCA personally engages with senior mandates. 4,600+ network. 160+ senior placements.

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Senior Finance Recruitment by Firm Type

The financial framework an FCA-authorised firm operates under varies materially by firm type. Capital adequacy is calculated under different methodologies. Reporting cycles cover different returns. Supervisory engagement focuses on different risk dimensions. The senior finance leader appropriate for an Alternative Investment Fund Manager differs in profile, experience, and skill set from the leader appropriate for an authorised payment institution or a MIFIDPRU investment firm. FD Capital’s firm-type-specific senior finance recruitment recognises this — each engagement is staffed against candidates whose prior track record matches the firm’s specific regulatory framework.

Each engagement is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA, founder of FD Capital, given the regulatory profile of senior finance roles at FCA-authorised firms and the specific technical requirements that each firm type imposes on the recruitment brief. Shortlists typically delivered within seven to ten working days. Pre-approved SMF candidates available for rapid deployment where the appointment requires immediate regulatory effectiveness.

For role-type-specific recruitment within FCA-regulated firms — SMF2 Chief Finance Function, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Compliance Officer, MLRO, Head of Regulatory Reporting, and others — see the role-based recruitment pages linked below.

Risk and Compliance Leadership Recruitment

Senior risk and compliance leadership across UK FCA-regulated firms operates within an increasingly demanding framework that combines firm-specific risk management with regulatory compliance and the personal accountability framework under SMCR. The senior population includes Chief Risk Officers, Heads of Risk, Chief Compliance Officers, Heads of Compliance, MLROs and AMLROs (the SMF17 Money Laundering Reporting Officer and Alternate MLRO), Senior Management Function holders across SMF1 through SMF22, certified persons performing significant harm functions, and the broader senior specialist population.

• Risk and Compliance Recruitment — broader risk and compliance senior leadership recruitment across UK regulated firms
• Compliance Recruitment — specialist compliance recruitment including Heads of Compliance, Compliance Officers, and the broader compliance function
• Chief Compliance Officer Recruitment — CCO appointments at UK FCA-regulated firms
• Chief Risk Officer Recruitment — CRO appointments including operational risk, financial risk, and integrated risk leadership
• SMCR Compliance Recruitment — Senior Managers and Certification Regime specialist recruitment including Senior Management Function appointments

Specialist SMF2 Chief Finance Function recruitment for UK FCA and PRA-regulated firms — banks, asset managers, insurers, payment services, and e-money institutions. Founder-led by Adrian Lawrence FCA, with pre-approved SMF candidates available for rapid deployment. Shortlists in seven to ten working days.

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Financial Crime Recruitment

Financial crime senior leadership covers the substantive UK regulatory framework on anti-money laundering, counter-terrorist financing, sanctions, fraud, market abuse, and the broader financial crime risk landscape. The senior population includes MLROs (the SMF17 appointment and the equivalent role at non-FCA regulated firms within the Money Laundering Regulations scope), Alternate MLROs, Heads of Financial Crime, Heads of Sanctions, Heads of Fraud, and the broader specialist population. Recent regulatory developments — including the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, the failure to prevent fraud offence in force from 1 September 2025, and continuing FCA supervisory focus on financial crime systems and controls — have intensified demand for substantively experienced financial crime senior leadership.

• Financial Crime Recruitment — broader financial crime senior leadership across UK regulated firms
• MLRO Recruitment — Money Laundering Reporting Officer recruitment including SMF17 appointments
• AMLRO Recruitment — Alternate Money Laundering Reporting Officer recruitment supporting MLRO succession and operational continuity

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Consumer Duty Recruitment

The Consumer Duty established a substantively higher standard for retail-facing UK firms across product governance, price and value, consumer understanding, and consumer support. The framework, in force for new and existing products from 31 July 2023 and for closed products from 31 July 2024, has created specialist senior roles including Heads of Consumer Duty, Consumer Duty Champions (typically a NED appointment under the Code-equivalent expectations), and the broader population engaging substantively with the four outcomes and the cross-cutting rules. FCA supervisory engagement on Consumer Duty implementation has been substantial, and effective senior leadership requires substantive prior experience with the framework rather than general retail conduct experience.

• Consumer Duty Recruitment — Consumer Duty specialist senior recruitment including Heads of Consumer Duty and Consumer Duty Champions

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Regulatory Reporting and Section 166 Reviews

Regulatory reporting at UK FCA and PRA-regulated firms covers the substantial volume of returns, statistical reports, supervisory data submissions, and ad hoc reporting that firms must produce to regulatory standards. The senior population includes Heads of Regulatory Reporting, Heads of Prudential Reporting, and the specialist population engaging with returns including the COREP, FINREP, MIFIDPRU, RTS28, and broader UK and EU regulatory reporting requirements. Section 166 skilled person reviews under FSMA section 166 have continued to be used substantively by the FCA and PRA, and firms responding to s166 notices typically require senior recruitment support to address the findings and rebuild substantive regulatory function capability.

• Head of Regulatory Reporting Recruitment — senior regulatory reporting leadership including Heads of Regulatory Reporting and Heads of Prudential Reporting
• Regulatory Reporting Recruitment — broader regulatory reporting specialist recruitment
• Section 166 Review Recruitment — specialist recruitment for firms responding to FSMA s166 skilled person notices

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Operational Resilience, DORA, and Third-Party Risk

The operational resilience framework under PRA SS1/21 and FCA SYSC 15A reshaped how UK regulated firms must identify, manage, and demonstrate resilience for important business services. The framework’s 31 March 2025 milestone — by which firms must be able to remain within their impact tolerances during severe but plausible scenarios — has produced substantial demand for senior operational resilience leadership. The EU Digital Operational Resilience Act, in application from 17 January 2025, applies to UK firms with EU operations through several routes and engages substantive ICT risk management, ICT-related incident reporting, digital operational resilience testing including Threat-Led Penetration Testing, third-party risk management, and information sharing arrangements. The third-party risk management framework has tightened across both UK and EU regulatory expectations, with the new FSMA section 312L Critical Third-Party regime designating critical service providers to the financial sector.

• Operational Resilience Recruitment — Heads of Operational Resilience and operational resilience specialist recruitment under SS1/21 and SYSC 15A
• DORA Compliance Recruitment — DORA Compliance Officers and ICT Risk leadership for UK firms with EU operations
• Third-Party Risk Recruitment — Heads of Third-Party Risk and TPRM specialist recruitment

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CASS — Client Money and Custody Assets

The CASS regime governs how UK FCA-regulated firms handle client money and custody assets, with substantial regulatory framework spread across CASS 6 (custody assets), CASS 7 (client money), CASS 7A (client money distribution), CASS 8 (mandates), and CASS 10 (CASS resolution pack). The senior population includes the SMF18 CASS Operational Oversight Function holder (the senior individual with prescribed responsibility for CASS at firms holding client money or custody assets), Heads of CASS, CASS Officers, and the specialist population engaging with the CMAR (Client Money and Asset Return), the annual CASS audit under SUP 3.10, and the broader operational delivery of the regime.

• CASS Recruitment — CASS specialist recruitment including SMF18 appointments, Heads of CASS, and the broader CASS specialist population

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Compliance Salary Benchmarking

Compensation benchmarking for senior compliance and risk leaders is a regular requirement for HR teams, hiring managers, and remuneration committees at UK FCA-regulated firms. Our compliance salary guide provides current UK market benchmarks across the senior compliance, risk, financial crime, and regulatory reporting population.

• Compliance Salary Guide — UK senior compliance, risk, and financial crime salary benchmarking

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Substantive Knowledge Centre Guides on UK Financial Services Regulation

FD Capital maintains a substantial Knowledge Centre with substantive guides on the principal UK financial services regulatory frameworks. These guides serve both as resources for senior candidates engaging with these frameworks and as substantive content demonstrating the depth of our team’s engagement with the regulatory environment. The compliance and regulatory cluster currently includes:

• Operational Resilience: A Complete UK Guide — substantive content on PRA SS1/21 and FCA SYSC 15A including the 31 March 2025 milestone
• DORA: A Complete UK Guide — substantive content on the EU Digital Operational Resilience Act including the five operational pillars and UK firm applicability
• CASS: A Complete UK Guide — substantive content on the CASS regime including CASS 6, 7, 7A, 8, and 10
• Third-Party Risk Management: A Complete UK Guide — substantive content on the UK and EU third-party risk frameworks including the FSMA s312L Critical Third-Party regime
• Whistleblowing: A Complete UK Guide — substantive content on PIDA, the Employment Rights Act 1996, and the FCA SYSC 18 framework

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The Sectors We Cover

Our FCA-regulated firms practice covers the principal UK regulated sectors. Each sector has distinct regulatory considerations and senior recruitment dynamics:

Banking and building societies. PRA-regulated banks and building societies operating under the dual PRA-FCA framework, including challenger banks, traditional banks, and building societies. Senior recruitment focuses on the broader risk, compliance, financial crime, and operational resilience population including SMCR senior management functions and the integrated risk function.

Asset and wealth management. Investment managers, wealth managers, fund managers, and the broader asset management sector. Senior recruitment focuses on compliance, risk, CASS (where firms hold client money or custody assets), regulatory reporting (including MIFIDPRU and Form ADV for cross-border firms), and the broader senior specialist population.

Insurance. PRA-regulated insurers, Lloyd’s market firms, and FCA-regulated insurance intermediaries. Senior recruitment focuses on the integrated risk function, compliance, conduct, and the specialist actuarial and underwriting population.

Broker dealers and electronic trading. FCA-regulated broker dealers, MTF operators, OTF operators, and the broader electronic trading population. Senior recruitment focuses on market conduct, market abuse prevention, MIFIDPRU compliance, and the specialist population engaging with the trading and post-trading framework.

Payment institutions and e-money firms. Authorised Payment Institutions, Small Payment Institutions, Authorised Electronic Money Institutions, and Small E-Money Institutions. Senior recruitment focuses on compliance, financial crime (with the sector’s elevated AML profile), safeguarding (the equivalent regime for client money protection in payments), and the broader specialist population.

Crypto firms. The growing UK regulated crypto firm population including those registered for AML purposes under the Money Laundering Regulations and those approaching broader FCA authorisation under the developing UK crypto regulatory framework. Senior recruitment focuses on compliance, financial crime, and the specialist population engaging with the evolving regulatory landscape.

Consumer credit and mortgage firms. FCA-regulated consumer credit firms (lenders, brokers, debt management firms) and mortgage firms (lenders, intermediaries, administrators). Senior recruitment focuses on compliance, conduct, the Consumer Duty, and the specialist population engaging with sector-specific regulatory requirements.

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How We Approach Senior FCA-Regulated Firm Recruitment

FD Capital has placed senior leaders into UK FCA and PRA-regulated firms since 2018, with substantive engagement across the full risk, compliance, financial crime, regulatory reporting, operational resilience, and emerging specialist population. Our network includes substantively experienced candidates across the principal regulatory frameworks, the principal sectors, and the SMCR senior management functions.

Our recruitment process for senior regulated firm mandates typically operates as follows. Initial briefing within 24 hours of enquiry, with Adrian Lawrence FCA personally leading briefings for senior mandates given the technical depth these roles require. Written role specification by day two covering the regulatory framework relevant to the role, the firm’s specific sector and authorisation status, the SMCR position (where applicable), the reporting line and committee engagement, the candidate profile sought, the compensation framework, and the timeline. Initial introduction of named candidates within 48 hours where the requirement is urgent. Full shortlist within five to ten working days. Appointment typically completing within 35 to 56 days for senior permanent appointments, with compressed timelines available for interim engagement and for situations where the regulatory context requires rapid placement.

Initial consultation is confidential and at no charge. Call 020 3287 9501 for an immediate FCA-regulated firm recruitment requirement, or email recruitment@fdcapital.co.uk.

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External References

• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — UK conduct regulator
• Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) — UK prudential regulator within the Bank of England
• FCA Handbook — the rules and guidance governing UK FCA-regulated firms
• FCA Handbook — SYSC — Senior Management Arrangements, Systems and Controls including SYSC 15A operational resilience and SYSC 18 whistleblowing
• FCA — Senior Managers and Certification Regime — SMCR framework guidance
• FCA — Consumer Duty — Consumer Duty framework guidance
• FCA — Operational Resilience — operational resilience framework guidance
• FCA — Client Assets — CASS framework guidance
• Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 — including FSMA section 166 (skilled person reviews) and section 312L (Critical Third-Party regime)
• Regulation (EU) 2022/2554 — Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) — EU operational resilience framework affecting UK firms with EU operations
• ICAEW — professional body for Chartered Accountants

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