FCA calls on private market firms to manage conflicts of interest in line with rapid growth

While the regulator found examples of strong governance, independent challenge and effective oversight, it also identified areas where firms need stronger controls and clearer investor disclosure. For compliance teams, this is a supervisory signal rather than a new rulebook: expect greater scrutiny of conflict policies, governance structures and disclosure practices as private markets continue to grow. Firms should review how conflicts are identified and escalated, test the independence of challenge at board and committee level, and ensure investor communications allow limited partners and other investors to assess whether their interests are protected.

Action points include mapping private-market-specific conflicts, updating policies and registers, strengthening governance and oversight arrangements, improving disclosure quality, and documenting how conflicts are mitigated. No immediate deadline was announced, but firms should treat the findings as a prompt for gap analysis and remediation planning. Those that act early can protect investor confidence, reduce supervisory risk and differentiate themselves through robust governance as the UK private markets sector expands.