Appointed representatives
Support for principal firms and their appointed representatives: the appointment process, the written agreement, ongoing oversight, and the regime’s reporting duties.
⚠ UNSIGNED-OFF COPY. This page was written during the build so the section could exist and its routes could resolve. It makes no claim about outcomes, timescales, prices or the FCA’s decisions, but claim-free is not the same as signed off. Recorded at
docs/content-removals-for-review.md § 7.
An appointed representative carries on regulated activities as the agent of an authorised firm, its principal. The principal takes regulatory responsibility for what the AR does, which is what makes oversight of the arrangement a regulatory obligation rather than a commercial preference.
For principal firms
- Assessing whether a prospective AR is suitable, and whether the principal has the resources to oversee it
- The written agreement required by SUP 12, and what it has to cover
- Ongoing oversight, monitoring and record-keeping
- The reporting the regime requires, including the annual self-assessment
For appointed representatives
- Understanding the boundary of what the appointment permits
- Where introducer appointed representative status differs, which is a much narrower permission
The rules are in SUP 12 (opens handbook.fca.org.uk in a new tab) of the FCA Handbook.
Our guides on the limits of an introducer appointed representative and authorisation against AR status cover the distinctions.