In this article, we briefly cover how long to expect when firms are submitting their applications for authorisations to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

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It can take approximately 18 weeks for the FCA to complete its review of an authorisation application. It is important to factor this into your firm’s planning and timescales.

Once submitted, it takes around 3 or 4 weeks for a case officer to be appointed to review your application.

The timescale for a decision depends on the complexity of the application, any issues raised by the case officer, and whether you need to provide follow-up documentation.

The statutory timeframe under Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) for the FCA to determine your application depends on whether it is “complete” (6 months) or “incomplete” (12 months). Do not be alarmed! The case officer will deem an application complete when they have all of the information necessary to make their decision.

It is perfectly acceptable to submit the authorisation application and follow up with certain documents that the FCA would expect to see once they are ready.

Our advice is to use that 3 or 4 week period from submitting the application and hearing from the case officer to prepare any outstanding documentation, so you can send it to the case officer once they will undoubtedly ask for it. This includes items such as the investment advisory/management agreement or fund offering documents.

MEMA Consultants assist firms in understanding their regulatory requirements and how best to navigate the myriad of obstacles facing businesses seeking authorisation