Corporate finance and capital raising adviser licence map

Who this helps

• - Corporate finance advisers
• - Capital raising consultants
• - Placement agents
• - Sponsor candidates
• - Private markets teams

Typical job titles

• - Corporate finance adviser
• - Sponsor
• - Placement agent
• - Capital raising adviser
• - Private markets adviser

Core question

Does the role advise on securities transactions, arrange capital raising, place securities, market funds, receive success fees, or introduce investors?

Activity triggers

• - Advising issuers, investors, or funds on securities transactions.
• - Arranging subscriptions, placements, acquisitions, listings, takeovers, or M&A securities activity.
• - Receiving success, placement, finder, referral, or transaction-based compensation.
• - Marketing fund interests or private placements.
• - Preparing pitch materials, roadshows, investor introductions, or subscription workflows.

Licence and registration map

• - Hong Kong: check Type 1 dealing, Type 4 advising, Type 6 corporate finance, and fund-marketing/private placement context.
• - Singapore: check CMS dealing, corporate finance, advising, and representative module routes.
• - UK: check arranging, advising, financial promotions, corporate finance permissions, and SM&CR.
• - US: check broker-dealer, placement agent, finder, adviser, and fund-marketing/private placement boundaries.
• - Australia: check AFSL dealing, advice, managed investment scheme, authorised representative, and responsible manager evidence.

Exam or competence checks

• - Sponsor/corporate finance exams depend on jurisdiction and the exact regulated function.
• - Transaction compensation usually needs specialist broker/dealer or dealing analysis.
• - Capital raising is not automatically unregulated because the target investors are professional, accredited, or wholesale.

Application evidence

• - Transaction workflow and compensation memo.
• - Client/investor classification and marketing controls.
• - Conflicts, disclosure, AML/CFT, complaints, and communication review process.
• - Key-person competence and supervision evidence.
• - Register check log for firms and individuals involved in the transaction chain.

Register checks

• - Check the firm and named people on relevant public registers before relying on a capital raising mandate.
• - Record permissions, licence status, conditions, warnings, and disciplinary history.
• - For US activity, use BrokerCheck and IAPD where adviser/broker boundaries may both matter.

Jurisdiction notes

Common mistakes

• - Calling success-fee placement work strategy consulting.
• - Assuming private placement, professional investors, or fund marketing removes licence questions.
• - Ignoring public register and clone-firm checks during capital raising.

Disclaimer

Information on LicenseCompare is for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal, regulatory, financial, tax, investment, or professional advice. Licensing requirements depend on facts and change over time. Always consult official regulator materials and qualified professional advisers.