Acquisitions Compliance Manager

Perspective Financial Group are proud to be the UK’s best client-centric financial planning firm for both our clients and our staff. Founded in 2008, we have now grown to over 70 local offices nationwide, employing over 950 people including more than 270 highly qualified financial planners and paraplanners. The qualities we look for in people who wish to join us include sharing our client-centric approach, having the focus and drive required to produce excellent results, and having a passion for learning and development.

Our Purpose, Vision and Values are at the core of what we do. See more over on our website at Vision and Values | Perspective Financial Group Ltd (pfgl.co.uk)

Reporting directly to the Head of Acquisitions Compliance, the Acquisitions Compliance Manager will lead regulatory due diligence reviews of financial advice businesses being considered for acquisition and support their subsequent regulatory onboarding and integration. This is a hands-on role involving detailed document, data and regulatory analysis. The role holder will identify historic and forward looking risks, produce clear and commercially focused conclusions, and translate findings into proportionate pre-completion and integration actions.

• Qualified to QCF Level 4 or above in financial planning, regulated financial planning, compliance or an equivalent relevant professional qualification.

• Relevant experience in financial services compliance, regulatory due diligence, compliance monitoring, file review, audit or risk consultancy role.

• Strong understanding of the UK wealth management and financial advice industry, including relevant products, services and advice processes.

• Strong working knowledge of the FCA regulatory framework applicable to UK financial advice and wealth management firms, including practical experience across several of the following: Consumer Duty, MiFID II ongoing servicing, COBS and suitability, IPRU, SYSC, TC, FIT, complaints, SM&CR, regulatory reporting and professional indemnity insurance.

• Demonstrable analytical and investigative skills, including the ability to review complex or incomplete information, reconcile data from different sources, identify inconsistencies and reach balanced, evidence based conclusions.

• Ability to distinguish between technical findings and matters that create a material regulatory, client, financial or transaction risk.

• Inquisitive and naturally curious, with the confidence to look beyond initial responses, challenge gaps or inconsistencies, and seek the evidence needed to reach sound conclusions.

• Strong report writing skills, with the ability to convert detailed technical findings into concise, balanced and commercially relevant commentary for senior stakeholders.

• Excellent interpersonal and verbal communication skills, including the confidence to ask probing questions, communicate uncertainty and manage sensitive vendor or stakeholder relationships constructively.

• Highly organised, with the ability to manage a varied workload, maintain accurate records and deliver high quality work to tight deadlines.

• Competent user of Microsoft Excel, with the ability to organise, filter, reconcile and interpret sizeable datasets and produce management information to support decision making.

• Comfortable working independently in a high growth and changing environment, while collaborating effectively across multidisciplinary teams.

• Lead end-to-end regulatory due diligence reviews across different acquisition structures, tailoring the scope and depth of work to the transaction, liabilities transferring and personnel joining the Group.

• Undertake detailed reviews of regulatory and compliance documentation, management information, client data & business data and vendor responses.

• Analyse historic advice activity and identify higher risk products, advice areas, client populations and business practices requiring enhanced review.

• Work closely with the file review team to understand the key findings and themes arising from advice file reviews, assess their wider significance and incorporate relevant conclusions into the regulatory due diligence report.

• Identify omissions, inconsistencies and weaknesses across evidence sources, including regulatory returns, FCA correspondence, PI submissions, complaints data, client files, business registers and financial information.

• Reconcile regulatory findings and key data with financial due diligence and other transaction workstreams, ensuring that material figures and conclusions are consistent across reports.

• Assess the nature, scale and materiality of findings, distinguishing between technical issues and matters that create material regulatory, client, financial or transaction risk.

• Produce concise, accurate and evidence based due diligence reports for senior management.

• Escalate material risks and red flags promptly, providing clear recommendations and proportionate mitigation strategies.
• Support regulatory onboarding activities and action plans, providing clear updates to relevant stakeholders and ensuring that due diligence findings are carried through to resolution.

• Work collaboratively with Regulatory, Finance, Legal, Operations and other acquisition workstreams.

• Build constructive relationships with vendors and external stakeholders, asking clear and appropriately challenging questions while supporting timely completion of due diligence and onboarding.

• Contribute to continuous improvement, including the development of guidance, workflows, quality standards and the proportionate use of AI and other technologies.