Compliance recruitment for FCA-regulated brokers
Broker Recruit finds compliance officers, MLROs and Senior Managers for insurance, mortgage, consumer credit, investment and wealth brokers. Every search runs through our specialist practice SMF Capital and is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA.
- Combined SMF16 and SMF17
- Fractional and part-time cover
- Fit and proper built in
- Same working day response
Built around how broking firms are regulated
A broker is rarely a large firm with a deep second line. More often it is a business of ten to a hundred people where one person carries compliance, the MLRO role and Consumer Duty at once. We recruit for that reality.
Insurance brokers and MGAs
Compliance officers and MLROs for Lloyd’s and retail brokers, managing general agents and insurance intermediaries, with product governance and fair value at the centre of the brief.
Insurance broker recruitmentMortgage and protection brokers
Part-time and full-time compliance leadership for directly authorised mortgage and protection firms, including those leaving a network to go directly authorised.
Part-time compliance officerConsumer credit and motor finance brokers
Compliance and risk leaders for credit brokers, commercial finance introducers and motor finance intermediaries who can evidence good customer outcomes, including during remediation.
Consumer credit recruitmentStockbrokers and institutional brokers
Compliance oversight and MLROs for stockbrokers, inter-dealer and institutional brokers, with market conduct, best execution and client asset experience matched to your permissions.
Investment firm recruitmentWealth managers and IFAs
Compliance officers, MLROs and RDR-qualified Senior Managers for advice firms, discretionary managers and consolidators, including CASS oversight where you hold client money.
Wealth and advice recruitmentFirms applying for authorisation
The compliance officer and MLRO an application needs, planned around your submission date, so the people named on the forms can carry the business through the FCA’s assessment.
FCA authorisation supportThe broker roles we fill most
Four practice areas cover almost every compliance hire a broking firm makes. Every broker search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA
Compliance officer and MLRO
One experienced person holding SMF16 and SMF17 together, the structure most smaller brokers use.
SMF16 and SMF17 explained →
Fractional and part-time
Approved compliance leadership from one day a week, for brokers that need accountable oversight but not a full-time hire.
Fractional and interim cover →
Advice and RDR roles
Level 4 qualified Senior Managers who advise, and certified advisers for wealth, investment and pension broking firms.
Wealth and advice sector →
Authorisation and urgent cover
Building the team for a new application, or replacing a Senior Manager who has left without notice.
The 12-week rule →
Every broker search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA
Small firms, personal accountability
Under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, the person who oversees compliance at your firm holds a Senior Manager Function in their own name. They need FCA approval before they start, they sign a Statement of Responsibilities, and they carry personal accountability for the areas it covers. The functions themselves are set out in SUP 10C of the FCA Handbook.
Most directly authorised brokers sit in the Core tier of the regime. That usually means a compliance oversight function (SMF16), a money laundering reporting officer (SMF17) and the directors who hold executive or chair functions. Some smaller consumer credit brokers with limited permission sit in the Limited Scope tier, with a lighter set of Senior Manager requirements. Our guide to which SMFs apply at which firm tier sets the differences out designation by designation.
In practice, a broker’s compliance hire is rarely one role. It is compliance monitoring, financial promotions sign-off, complaints oversight, the firm’s response to the Consumer Duty, and anti-money laundering systems and controls, often in a single person who reports straight to the board. Someone who has only worked inside a large bank’s compliance department may never have carried all of that alone. Someone who has spent a career at a network may never have been the approved person.
That is why we test candidates against the brief your board actually needs, not against a job title. A strong insurance broker compliance officer is not automatically right for a stockbroker, and an MLRO who suits a wealth manager may struggle with the financial crime risks of a commercial finance introducer.
What a broker compliance hire usually covers
- Compliance oversight (SMF16) and the compliance monitoring programme
- MLRO duties (SMF17), suspicious activity reporting and the firm-wide risk assessment
- Consumer Duty evidence, fair value assessments and the annual board report
- Financial promotions approval and complaints handling oversight
- Oversight of appointed representatives, where you act as a principal
- Regulatory returns, breach reporting and the FCA relationship
Leaving a network or principal firm
Many brokers start life as an appointed representative of a network or principal firm. The principal carries regulatory responsibility, and the AR’s directors are approved under the older Approved Persons Regime rather than the Senior Managers regime. It is a sensible way to start, but as a broker grows, the cost of network fees and the limits on what it can sell often push it towards its own authorisation.
Going directly authorised changes the people question completely. The firm now needs its own compliance oversight and MLRO, approved by the FCA as part of the application, and the regulator will look hard at whether the individuals named can genuinely run those functions. Our article on the Senior Managers you will need when you go directly authorised walks through the roles and the timing.
For many brokers the right answer is a fractional compliance officer and MLRO, working one or two days a week and approved as SMF16 and SMF17 at your firm, alongside an outsourced provider for file checking. Our guide to what you can and cannot outsource explains where the line sits: the tasks can be outsourced, the accountability cannot.
If you are planning an application, talk to us before you fix the submission date. Approval of a complete application can take up to three months, and a candidate with a long notice period can hold up the whole timetable. We plan the search around both. See SMF authorisation support and building an SMF team from scratch.
From first call to FCA approval
A short call is enough to start. We don’t ask for a long written brief before we begin.
- Brief against your permissions
We start from what your firm is authorised to do, your tier, any appointed representatives and the responsibilities the new person will sign, then build the specification around them.
- Targeted search, including passive candidates
Most strong broker compliance officers are not job-hunting. We approach them directly and in confidence, drawing on a network pooled across all five FD Capital Group practices.
- Fit and proper pre-assessment
Before anyone reaches your shortlist we test them against the fit and proper test: prior approvals, regulatory history, directorships and financial soundness.
- Shortlist and interviews
You meet a small number of candidates already checked for regulatory readiness and broker experience. Adrian Lawrence FCA interviews every shortlisted candidate personally.
- References, application and day one
We request regulatory references early, help prepare the Statement of Responsibilities, and stay involved until the FCA has approved your appointment and they are in the role.
Typical broker compliance rates
Day rates and salaries vary with the firm’s permissions, client money and the size of any AR network. As a guide, experienced fractional MLROs typically charge £600 to £1,100 a day and fractional Heads of Compliance £600 to £1,000 a day, according to FD Capital’s SMCR compliance recruitment data. Our full SMF and compliance salary guide breaks this down further.
Beyond compliance: the rest of your leadership team
Broker Recruit is part of FD Capital Group. When the hire isn’t a compliance role, we hand it to the practice built for it, and make the introduction ourselves. Every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA
SMF Capital
Every Senior Manager Function, executive and non-executive, for FCA and PRA-regulated firms.
SMF recruitment services →
FD Capital
Fractional, interim and permanent Finance Directors for brokers, including SMF2 and regulatory capital work.
SMF2 CFO recruitment →
Exec Capital
Chief executives, managing directors and C-suite hires for regulated broking firms and their groups.
FCA-regulated executive search →
NED Capital
Independent non-executives and chairs for broker boards, including those taking on Consumer Duty champion duties.
Board skills matrix template →
Every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA
Compliance professionals in broking
If you hold SMF16 or SMF17 at a broker, or you are ready for your first approval, we want to hear from you. Many of the broker roles we fill are never advertised, and many fractional appointments go to people we already know. We are particularly keen to speak to compliance officers and MLROs open to part-time portfolio work across two or three firms.
Current vacancies, including a part-time SMF16/SMF17 role at an institutional broker, are listed on the SMF Capital jobs board. Registration is confidential, and we never share your details with a firm without speaking to you first. You can check your current approvals on the FCA Financial Services Register.
Useful reading before your next move
Latest articles for broking firms
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Going directly authorised broker compliance hires
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Read articleFrequently asked questions
Does a small broker need its own SMF16 and SMF17?
A directly authorised broker in the Core tier needs someone approved for compliance oversight and someone for money laundering reporting. In smaller firms one person commonly holds both. That person does not have to be an employee: many brokers appoint a fractional compliance officer and MLRO who works a set number of days a month and is approved at the firm. See who can be your MLRO or compliance officer.
Can we use an outsourced compliance consultancy instead?
You can outsource compliance tasks, such as file checks, monitoring and financial promotions reviews, but not the accountability. The SMF16 and SMF17 functions must be held by named individuals approved by the FCA. Many brokers combine a fractional approved Senior Manager with an outsourced provider for the day-to-day work.
How long does it take to appoint a compliance officer?
A permanent search typically takes three to five weeks to shortlist, then you need to allow for the candidate’s notice period and the FCA’s approval, which can run up to three months once a complete application is submitted. Fractional and interim appointments can move much faster. Our SMF appointment timeline sets out each stage.
Do you recruit brokers, traders or advisers themselves?
Our focus is the compliance, MLRO and Senior Manager hires that keep a broker authorised. We also place RDR-qualified Senior Managers who advise and certified advisers for wealth and investment firms. For finance, executive and board roles, our sister practices FD Capital, Exec Capital and NED Capital take the search.
What happens if our compliance officer leaves suddenly?
Under the 12-week rule, someone can cover the function temporarily while you submit an application for the person who will hold it. We can provide interim cover quickly and run the permanent search alongside it. See urgent SMF replacement.
Hiring compliance for a broking firm?
Tell us the role, the firm type and your timing. SMF Capital will come back to you the same working day, with the fit and proper assessment built into the search from the first conversation.