Financial services
Our financial services group advises international commercial and investment banks, investment managers, mortgage brokers, insurers, and other key players in the financial services markets on a wide range of issues relating to international financial services regulation. Our main areas of work are as follows:
- Non contentious regulatory – We advise clients on such matters as the need for Financial Services Authority (FSA) authorisation when they are launching a new business, financial promotion, collective investment schemes, and offers of securities to the public. We help them structure and operate their businesses so they are compliant with FSA and other regulatory requirements. In addition, we help clients to implement significant change arising from corporate reorganisations, merger and acquisition activity and the implementation of new legislation, such as MiFID, UCITS IV and AIFMD.
- Investment funds – We design and implement innovative legal structures for new investment funds, including real estate, infrastructure and private equity funds and assist clients in maintaining and (where necessary) restructuring their investment funds and related contractual arrangements.
- Contentious regulatory – We have extensive experience in defending clients against regulatory actions by financial services regulators, as well advising clients on preventative measures to avoid enforcement situations arising.
- International financial centres (IFCs) – We have developed a unique approach to designing and implementing IFCs, which draws on the wide-range of specialist expertise across our strategy, regulatory, tax, legal and implementation teams to design and implement innovative frameworks, as well as assisting clients in improving their existing IFC offerings.