GRC In Focus

When the UK's largest retail investment platform prepares to sell a product it publicly states has “no intrinsic value” and "shouldn't be relied upon to help clients meet their financial goals," what does that tell you about Consumer Duty? When OpenAI obligates itself to $1 trillion in infrastructure commitments while still unprofitable, what could go wrong? In this episode of GR...

Man Group: 36% down, "nothing broken." UK trusts: £38B trapped in discounts, activist invasion imminent. Shadow banking: $10B hidden debt, triple-A bonds worthless. In this episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory dissects three unfolding disasters: Man Group's underperformance, the UK investment trust discount crisis, and the emerging shadow banking risks. When Man Group's boa...

Think AIFMD 2.0 is just another regulatory update? You're wrong! AIFMD 2.0 isn't a minor regulatory tweak—it's the biggest revamp since 2011, and loan originators may need to overhaul their business model In this episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory unpacks AIFMD 2.0's impact with just eight months until the April 16, 2026 go-live date. Asad explains how the new loan originat...

Signing an outsourcing agreement is just the beginning - the FCA's February 2025 portfolio letter changes everything about delegation oversight. In this critical episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory delivers a wake-up call to investment firms treating delegation as abdication. With the FCA's February 2025 portfolio letter identifying systematic deficiencies across £3 trillion in priv...

Why smart GPs are abandoning the 10-year fund model for innovative fund structures solving the $4 trillion liquidity crisis plaguing traditional PE funds. In this episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory challenges the traditional private equity model and explores the innovative fund structures that are revolutionizing how private capital operates. With $4 trillion in portfolio assets sitting in...

FCA Consumer Duty explained — practical steps, case studies, and compliance strategies for investment firms, wealth managers, and senior leaders. In this episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory takes a deep dive into the FCA’s Consumer Duty — nearly two years on from its introduction — and explores why it’s far more than a box-ticking exercise. Asad unpacks the four outcomes at the heart of Con...

In this episode of GRC In Focus, host Asad Bukhory explores how trillion-dollar corporations like Amazon and Walmart are transitioning from money users to money creators through corporate stablecoins, and the massive governance, risk, and compliance implications this creates. While these digital currencies could eliminate billions in payment processor fees and create captive economies, they raise...

In this Episode Asad Bukhory unpacks the hidden costs killing crypto innovation. He breaks down two regulatory bombshells reshaping stablecoins: the GENIUS Act's federal licensing framework and the FCA’s proposed rules. He explains how these regulations aren't just changing compliance — they're creating an extinction event for smaller players.  As regulators in the US and UK introduce...

In this episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory unpacks the seismic impact of ESMA's ESG fund naming regulations following Aviva Investors' €56,000 fine for a mere 5% deviation in ESG allocation. With 880 funds forced to rebrand—the largest rebranding in European fund history—and €1.9 trillion in assets affected, Asad reveals how these rules are creating an existential crisis for emergi...

In this debut episode of GRC in Focus, host Asad Bukhory explores the democratisation of private markets, offering insights on how this trend is reshaping the investment landscape for startups and emerging fund managers. Asad delves into the benefits and challenges of making private equity and private debt accessible to retail investors, driven by strategic initiatives from large wealth managers a...