ACA Group has unveiled a comprehensive Market Abuse Risk Framework aimed at helping UK and European buy-side firms strengthen their compliance and risk management processes.
The governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) advisor said the solution is designed by practitioners to provide real-world support for firms navigating market abuse risks across their trading activities.
This is the first full-scale framework designed specifically for buy-side institutions, combining advisory services, outsourced managed support, and RegTech tools. ACA’s holistic approach enables firms to enhance surveillance capabilities throughout the trade lifecycle — from pre-trade to post-trade — ensuring that potential misconduct is detected and addressed effectively.
Regulatory pressure on firms continues to grow as authorities demand greater transparency and accountability. Firms are expected to align with the Market Abuse Regulation (MAR), the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II), and the Senior Managers and Certification Regime (SM&CR).
The launch of ACA’s framework follows the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) five-year enforcement strategy, which highlights market abuse prevention as a key priority, and upcoming reforms to the SM&CR set for consultation in July 2025.
ACA’s framework provides a structured, regulator-ready solution that integrates conduct, control, and surveillance reviews. Built by buy-side practitioners, the framework draws on first-hand knowledge of market abuse risks across asset classes and trading strategies, offering firms practical tools to strengthen their governance.
ACA Group partner Raj Somal said, “What truly differentiates this solution is the depth of expertise driving it.
Our clients are navigating increasingly-complex trading, and jurisdictional and infrastructure environments, and often without a clear, actionable view of their market abuse risk. This isn’t just a health check; it’s a dynamic, evolving programme that firms can use to strengthen governance, meet evolving regulatory and business expectations, and build investor confidence.”
The framework features a proprietary matrix that maps market abuse offences against trading activity across asset classes, and includes reviews of surveillance systems, policies, and suspicious transaction procedures.
It also covers public and private assets, ETFs, and quantitative strategies, while assessing surveillance technology and providing a reusable risk framework document with maintenance guidance.
This new framework forms part of ACA’s broader suite of compliance tools, including the ComplianceAlpha® regulatory technology platform, which integrates trade and eComms surveillance, conflict management, and monitoring capabilities. These can be combined with advisory and managed services to create a full-scale compliance solution tailored to each firm’s needs.
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