FCA Approves Onchain Fund Registers and Direct-to-Fund Dealing for 2,600 UK Asset Managers Managing £16.5 Trillion

According to the Financial Conduct Authority, on Thursday the FCA approved rules allowing UK asset managers to maintain official investor registers on blockchain and introduced an optional Direct-to-Fund dealing model that removes intermediaries from fund transactions. The changes, set out in policy statement PS26/7, take effect immediately and apply to approximately 2,600 firms managing an estimated £16.5 trillion in assets. Under the new framework, authorised fund managers can use distributed ledger technology as the official register of investor ownership without requiring a full off-chain duplicate, provided they maintain operational resilience and comply with governance, data protection, and financial crime standards. The Direct-to-Fund model enables the fund or its depositary to become the counterparty to investor transactions, with units issued or cancelled as cash moves directly between investor and fund.