What the FCA found
The gaps weren't rare. They were common.
In 2025/26 the FCA reviewed 242 asset management and alternative firms. Across seven control areas, the same weaknesses recurred, and several sit on top of explicit legal requirements under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
242
Asset management and alternative firms reviewed in the FCA's engagement.
1 in 5
Just over a fifth of firms had no business-wide risk assessment, or one that was only partially complete.
29%
Reported no formal transaction-monitoring process at all.
18%
Had no formal customer risk assessment methodology.
7%
Don't run repeat screening for sanctions, PEPs and adverse media.
50%
Made no investment in AML systems or remediation in the last 24 months.
Source: FCA, Asset management and alternative firms' financial crime controls · 22 July 2026