The U.K. Treasury will launch a consultation examining ways to relax rules governing alternative investment fund managers, according to a news release.
The move follows a commitment made by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in March to cut the administrative cost of regulation on business by a quarter.
The consultation aims to create a more graduated regime, where only the largest firms with value of over £5 billion ($6.5 billion) are subject to the full scope of requirements, with the majority of firms subject to less prescriptive rules, aiming to reduce overall administration costs.
Once the consultation has concluded, feedback from the asset management sector will be used to design draft legislation which will then be shared with asset management businesses next year.
The consultation will take place over the next nine weeks, providing hedge funds, private equity firms, and investment trusts the opportunity to contribute to the development of a more streamlined regulatory environment.
“We want to bring security to working people by going further and faster to drive growth. That means making the U.K. the number one place to do business and tearing down unnecessary barriers to investment, such as costly regulation that prevents asset management firms from growing and provide capital for businesses across the country to grow,” said Emma Reynolds, former Pensions Minister and now Economic Secretary to the Treasury, in the news release.
The planned regulatory overhaul is expected to take place by the Treasury in co-operation with the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.
