SMF Recruitment Services

SMF Capital works with boards and executive teams on the appointments that carry personal, evidenced regulatory accountability under the FCA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime. Every search is built around the fit and proper assessment from the first conversation, not treated as a final compliance step — and every search is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA.

What We Actually Do

Below are the services where SMF Capital adds something genuinely distinct — cross-designation work that doesn’t sit neatly inside a single role. For a specific single designation search — a Chair, a CEO, a CFO, or a compliance hire — our sister practices FD Capital, Exec Capital and NED Capital run dedicated searches for those roles directly, and we’ll point you to the right one rather than duplicate their work here.

How We Work

Every engagement, whatever shape it takes, follows the same underlying discipline. We build the fit and proper assessment into the process from the outset — testing for exactly what the FCA’s Form A submission will ask about, before anyone reaches a shortlist. We specify designation-specific requirements rather than screening for general seniority, because “FCA-regulated firm experience” is not a single, transferable credential. We plan against the realistic total timeline, including Form A approval, from the first conversation. And every engagement is led personally by Adrian Lawrence FCA — not handed to a junior consultant partway through.

Who We Work With

Our clients range from newly authorising fintech and cryptoasset firms building an SMF team from scratch, to established Enhanced tier firms reviewing board and executive governance, to overseas firms opening a UK branch for the first time. What connects them is a genuine regulatory accountability question that a standard recruitment process isn’t built to answer properly.