Financial services licensing comparison

Compare financial licensing requirements across jurisdictions.

LicenseCompare helps you understand and compare securities, fund management, advisory, brokerage, and related licensing routes in Hong Kong, Singapore, the UK, the US, and Australia.

Compare jurisdictions Find your likely licence route

Official-source based

Decision tools

Jurisdictions

Compare five regulatory routes

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Hong Kong

Securities and Futures Commission

SFC licensed corporation for Type 1 dealing in securities

Singapore

Monetary Authority of Singapore

MAS Capital Markets Services licence for fund management

United Kingdom

Financial Conduct Authority

FCA Part 4A authorisation for investment firms

United States

SEC / FINRA / state securities regulators

SEC investment adviser registration through IARD and Form ADV

AUS

Australia

Australian Securities and Investments Commission

Australian financial services licence for financial services business

Application process

Turn a licence route into an evidence plan

View process maps

Hong Kong SFC licence application process

Confirm the legal applicant, Hong Kong presence, group structure, substantial shareholders, directors, and intended regulated activities.

Singapore MAS CMS licence application process

Confirm the Singapore applicant entity, UEN, controllers, directors, CEO/key executives, compliance owner, AML/CFT owner, and representative model.

UK FCA authorisation application process

Confirm whether authorisation is needed and do not carry on regulated activities while the application is under review unless an exemption or temporary permission applies.

US SEC adviser and FINRA broker-dealer application process

Build a compensation map before route selection; transaction-based or success-fee compensation is a broker-dealer red flag even where the business calls itself advisory or consulting.

AUS

Australia AFSL application process

Confirm the applicant entity, responsible managers, controllers, representatives, business description, financial services, financial products, client type, and launch geography.

Licence requirements

Start from the activity, then test the jurisdiction

Asset managementDiscretionary portfolio, fund, managed account, and investment management models where the firm makes or controls investment decisions.Investment advicePersonal, firm, platform, or research-led models that recommend securities, funds, portfolios, or other financial products.Brokerage/dealingExecution, arranging, introducing, order-routing, placement, brokerage, dealing, or transaction-compensation models.Fund marketingFund offers, financial promotions, private placement activity, distribution, investor introductions, and marketing material approval flows.Trading platformsMarketplaces, execution tools, automated trading features, trading venues, ATS-style models, and platform order flows.

Learn

NBFI and securities concepts without fluff

What are non-bank financial institutions?A practical primer on NBFIs, why they matter for licensing, and how investment funds, advisers, brokers, insurers, pension funds, finance companies, and market infrastructures fit into the wider system.Funds, advisers, brokers, dealers, custodians and market operatorsHow common financial services roles differ in practice, and why a single user journey can create several licensing questions.Securities, funds, derivatives and market rolesA beginner-friendly but practical guide to the product and role vocabulary behind securities licensing routes.Professional, accredited, wholesale and retail clientsWhy client classification changes licensing, conduct, disclosure, marketing, and evidence requirements across jurisdictions.Custody, client assets and safeguardingHow custody and client asset control can change licensing routes, capital expectations, audit work, and operating controls.

Exams and qualifications

Pick the role before picking an exam

Hong Kong securities licensing exams and individual approval pathHow SFC licensed representative, responsible officer, Type 1, Type 4, Type 6, Type 9, sponsor, takeovers, and depositary exam questions fit together.Singapore CMFAS exams and representative notification pathHow Singapore CMFAS modules, MAS representative notification, CMS activities, dealing, advising, fund marketing, and corporate finance roles fit together.UK FCA qualification and competence pathHow FCA training and competence, appropriate qualification tables, SM&CR, certification, personal recommendations, investment advice, and firm supervision fit together.US SIE, FINRA Series exams and adviser representative pathHow SIE, Series 7, Series 63, Series 65, Series 66, broker-dealer sponsorship, investment adviser representatives, and state registration fit together.Australia financial adviser exam, professional standards and responsible manager pathHow ASIC financial adviser exam, relevant provider standards, professional year, CPD, RG 146 boundary, responsible managers, and AFSL people evidence fit together.

Career paths

Learn the field through real licensing touchpoints

Securities broker or dealing representative career pathA practical route map for people who want to enter brokerage, dealing, execution, order routing, or securities transaction roles.Investment adviser career pathA practical route map for people who want to provide investment advice, recommendations, portfolio advice, or advisory services.Asset manager or portfolio manager career pathA route map for people aiming at discretionary portfolio management, fund management, private funds, REITs, or managed account roles.Securities compliance officer career pathA route map for people who want to work in licensing, compliance monitoring, AML/CFT, conduct risk, supervision, or regulatory operations.Investment research analyst career pathA route map for people entering securities research, analyst publishing, model portfolio, rating, or platform commentary roles.

Popular comparisons

Hong Kong vs Singapore for fund managers SFC Type 9 vs MAS CMS licence FCA authorisation vs SEC investment adviser registration Broker-dealer vs investment adviser routes in the US

Tools

Decision support before application spend

Licence Finder

Find possible routes and key questions.

Jurisdiction Comparison

Compare routes, people, capital, and watch-outs.

Application Readiness

Score your preparation before hiring advisers.

Timeline Estimator

Estimate timing and likely delay factors.

Official register monitoring

Open official registers in a new tab

Register links are treated as primary due diligence routes. LicenseCompare summarizes the path, then sends users to the regulator record for relevance checking.

SFC Public Register of Licensed Persons and Registered InstitutionsHong Kong - Checks current and historical SFC licensed persons, licensed corporations, and registered institutions.MAS Financial Institutions DirectorySingapore - Searches Singapore financial institutions, licence categories, status, and capital markets activities.FCA Financial Services RegisterUnited Kingdom - Checks authorised and registered firms, individuals, permissions, and warnings.IAPD and FINRA BrokerCheckUnited States - IAPD checks adviser firms and Form ADV filings; BrokerCheck checks brokers, brokerage firms, and investment adviser information.ASIC Professional Registers SearchAustralia - Checks AFS licensees, authorised representatives, credit licensees, auditors, liquidators, and registered schemes.

Latest guides

How to choose between Hong Kong and Singapore for an asset management licence

A practical decision guide for new asset managers comparing SFC Type 9 and Singapore MAS fund management routes.

SFC Type 1, Type 4 and Type 9 explained by business model

A practical mapping of Hong Kong SFC Type 1, Type 4 and Type 9 to dealing, advice, fund distribution, and portfolio management workflows.

Singapore MAS CMS licence: what new fund managers should understand

A decision-focused guide to MAS CMS licence issues for Singapore fund managers, representatives, client type, and application preparation.

UK FCA authorisation for investment firms: practical overview

How investment managers, advisers, and brokerage firms should think about FCA permissions, SM&CR, forecasts, CASS, and application evidence.

Official-source updates

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