Dual-regulated firms: FCA-regulated and SEC adviser firms
Analysis of 698 active firms operating across the FCA and SEC adviser perimeter, covering firm types, scale, geography, and regulated roles.
What the report covers
Hackford has expanded its platform to include data on more than 23,000 US adviser firms, spanning SEC-registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers.
This report focuses on the 698 active firms operating across both the US SEC adviser and UK FCA regulatory perimeter. The cohort includes global asset managers, hedge funds, private equity firms, and venture capital managers.
The analysis covers market subsegments, London concentration, SEC Regulatory Assets Under Management, employee footprint, Senior Management Functions, and the concentration of UK and US compliance responsibility.
It is designed for compliance consultants, regtech teams, and market participants who need a clearer view of complex cross-border regulated firms.
Dataset
The analysis covers active firms appearing in both Hackford's FCA-derived firm data and SEC adviser data, including RIA/ERA status, Form ADV-derived RAUM, employee indicators and FCA Senior Management Function roles.
Key findings
- Hackford identified 698 active firms operating across both the FCA and SEC adviser perimeter.
- The cohort includes 264 SEC-registered investment adviser firms and 434 exempt reporting adviser firms.
- The cohort is concentrated in investment management, hedge funds and private equity, with private-market specialists especially prominent among ERAs.
- The RIA firms in the cohort have median SEC regulatory assets under management of $4.06bn.
- Among RIAs in the cohort, 107 firms sit in the $1bn to $10bn RAUM band and 94 firms report more than $10bn in RAUM.
- Hackford found 102 RIA firms in the cohort reporting 50 or more employees.
- Among the 634 firms with both SMF16 and SMF17, 524 assign both roles to one person.
- Of the 310 firms disclosing a public SEC chief compliance officer, 245 appear to name the same individual as their current SMF16.
Methodology
The report combines FCA firm data from the FCA Registry Extract Service with US investment adviser data from the SEC Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database.
Hackford identified firms appearing across both datasets and analysed the overlap cohort using linked entity-level data in the Hackford platform.
Market subsegments are derived from FCA permissions, firm websites, Companies House SIC codes and other public information.
Who should read this
- Compliance consultants advising cross-border investment firms
- Regtech and compliance software teams selling into FCA and SEC adviser firms
- Market-mapping teams analysing investment managers, hedge funds and private capital firms
- Journalists and researchers covering UK-US financial services regulation
Definitions
- RIA
- An SEC-registered investment adviser firm registered under the Investment Advisers Act and filing Form ADV as a registered adviser.
- ERA
- An exempt reporting adviser that relies on an exemption from SEC registration while still filing limited information with the SEC.
- Form ADV
- The SEC adviser filing that includes information on ownership, services, clients, fees and disciplinary history.
- RAUM
- Regulatory assets under management reported under Form ADV rules for continuous and regular management.
- SMF16
- The FCA Senior Management Function for Compliance Oversight.
- SMF17
- The FCA Senior Management Function for the Money Laundering Reporting Officer.
Report FAQ
What does the dual-regulated firms report cover?
It covers active firms operating across both the FCA and SEC adviser perimeter, including RIA and ERA status, firm type, London concentration, RAUM, employees and regulated roles.
What is the source data for the report?
The report uses public FCA Registry Extract Service data and SEC adviser data from the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database.