The FCA is rewriting the UK rulebook for alternative fund managers. The consultation that matters for hedge funds and private equity closes on October 22.
CP26/28 drops the old split between full-scope and small AIFMs. In its place: three tiers by net asset value, not leveraged assets under management. Small is below £750 million NAV. Medium is £750 million to £5 billion. Large is above £5 billion. The small threshold is far higher than the £100 million the FCA floated last year.
When do managers have to reply?
HM Treasury is running the statute in parallel. Comments on the draft Alternative Investment Fund Managers Regulations 2026 are due on October 14. Most firm-facing rules would move out of legislation and into a new FCA sourcebook, ALTS. Final rules are aimed at 2027. The regime is meant to apply in 2028.
The FCA’s case is size. UK managers run almost £2 trillion in alternatives and more than £16 trillion in total. The EU has already rewritten AIFMD. London wants a UK version that does not copy Brussels line for line and does not treat a £400 million long/short book like a £20 billion private-markets platform.
Two other papers sit next to it. CP26/26 on fund reporting (FRAME) also closes on October 22. Depositary, prime-broker and business-restriction chapters closed on September 18.
A mid-sized UK manager should know which tier it lands in under NAV rather than gross AUM, and whether the Treasury draft still captures its current permissions. That is the work to be done before October 14. The October 22 letter is for the FCA rule text and the prudential chapter.
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