Wealth management group Tilney Smith & Williamson (TSW) is eyeing business opportunities in the European advisory space following the UK’s exit from the bloc.
The firm said that many UK discretionary fund managers have found themselves shut out of the market since 1 January 2021 as a result of Brexit.
But TSW has been boosting its international business development operations and capabilities to work with IFAs based in the EU.
The group is able to do so through its Mifid-authorised subsidiary regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland and its EU-domiciled hub with full passporting rights.
‘Fantastic opportunity’
Maurice Keane, head of international business at TSW, said: “There has been a considerable amount of regulatory change in the European Union in recent years, with certain local regulators determining that advisers must be regulated in the same jurisdiction as the client.
“With the UK having now left the EEA and Europe’s regulatory framework, the same regulators and pension trustees are now insisting that discretionary fund managers are also regulated in Europe.
“The UK has long been the go-to market for discretionary fund management groups, but the regulatory consequences of Brexit have had a profound effect on the ability of most UK-based discretionary fund managers, who are exclusively regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), to continue to operate in Europe and work with EU-based advisers.
“But for us as group, this has, frankly, created a fantastic opportunity.”
Through its Irish business and EU-domiciled hub, as well as a suite of Dublin domiciled OEIC funds, TSW is able to bypass the regulatory obstacles presented by the UK’s departure from the Union.
“This incredibly advantageous position means that we are pushing at an open door with European IFAs,” Keane added.
