Stuart specialises in advising firms from across the industry on to the authorisation process, in order to conduct investment business in the UK. In addition, Stuart works with authorised firms to advise on changes to their existing permissions.
Stuart has over 17 years of experience in this field, having worked on over 300 successful authorisations to date. Stuart also advises authorised firms on a wide range of matters including compliance architecture and appropriate governance arrangements. Stuart assists firms by overseeing their compliance arrangements, conducting compliance audits and performing internal compliance monitoring.
At any one time, Stuart is working on a number of routine authorisations or variations of permissions (VOPs) for asset management, broking, venture capital and corporate finance firms working with UK and overseas business partners. In addition, Stuart has extensive experience handling complex applications such as novel business products, styles and similar ground-breaking businesses.
Stuart obtained a Master’s degree in Corporate and Commercial Law from Queen Mary College, London in 1992 and qualified as a solicitor in 1996. Recent work includes:
- The first authorisation for a crowdfunding firm
- The authorisation of an innovative platform for the wholesale market for the purchase and sale of illiquid investments
- Advising on the authorisation and ongoing compliance requirements of a market-leading renewable energy investment firm
- Advising on the authorisation for two FCA specified benchmarks
- Advising a number of firms to obtain authorisation under the AIFMD
- Advising two of the market leaders in the social finance market on their regulatory requirements
- Acting as interim compliance officer for an international asset manager
- Advising firms on both the buy and sell side on the impact of MiFID II
- Advising a firm on becoming an umbrella and an Appointed Representative network.
