Swedish FSA focuses on fund managers’ compliance – what to expect

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen) is taking a closer look at how fund managers manage their compliance and internal audit functions. This follows the latest initiative by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), which launched a Common Supervisory Action (CSA) across the EU in early 2025.

The message is clear: authorities are raising their expectations, and fund managers need to make sure that their internal control mechanisms are up to standard.

What’s happening?

The Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority's initiative is part of a broader Common Supervisory Action (CSA) coordinated by the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA). This CSA focuses on evaluating how well fund managers across EU jurisdictions are upholding requirements related to compliance and internal audit functions. National competent authorities (NCAs) will carry out these evaluations in 2025, using a shared methodology and set of assessment criteria to ensure consistency across Europe.

The review is grounded in Articles 61 and 62 of the UCITS (The Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) directive and Articles 57 and 58 of the AIFMD (Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive), both of which demand effective compliance and internal audit frameworks. 

What does this mean for fund managers? 

This initiative sends a clear message: fund managers must demonstrate that they have effective, independent, and well-resourced control functions. Supervisory authorities will examine whether these functions operate with sufficient authority, maintain independence from business units, and have the necessary tools to identify, monitor, and manage regulatory risks.

For fund management companies, this is an opportunity to review internal procedures, identify gaps, and address risks related to market conduct and financial crime.

How Trapets supports compliance and risk functions

Compliance functions can only be effective if they have the tools to do the job.

Trapets' solution for market and trade surveillance helps companies detect and investigate suspicious trading activities, ensuring compliance with MAR (Market Abuse Regulation). Key features include:

• Automated alerts based on trading patterns
• Automated monitoring and historical data analysis
• Customisable detection logic to meet internal policies
• Comprehensive audit trails for internal reviews or supervisory inquiries

Need human expertise to support your regulatory practices? Trapets’ Managed Services combines human expertise with analytics to help fund managers meet their obligations under Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) frameworks.

Our team of specialists investigates orders, trades, and financial transactions to identify behaviours that may indicate market abuse or financial crime.