Launching new investment funds

Background

At PryceWilliams, we help investment firms design, launch and scale their investment funds. We have a proven track record of supporting global asset managers with fund launches and mergers in the UK and Europe, expanding their product range while ensuring compliance and operational efficiency.

In today’s complex financial environment, there is increasing pressure to deliver new and competitive products to meet consumer needs. Organisations must navigate fragmented regulation, digital integration challenges and increasing investor expectations. Launching new products demands cross-functional coordination, an understanding of the regulatory landscape and operational readiness. The right partner can help organisations avoid the risk of delays, increased costs, non-compliance and reputational harm.

Approach

This document is designed for Heads of Investment Management, Product Development and stakeholders involved in launching new investment products. As an illustration, we use the launch of a UK UCITS fund as a case study.

By guiding you through the phases, requirements and challenges of a typical UK UCITS fund launch, we provide insights on:

• The importance of launching new funds
• The challenges faced when launching funds
• What is needed to ensure a successful fund launch

We achieve these objectives by addressing five key questions, designed to reflect the priorities and concerns of product leaders and to help organisations plan and execute successful fund launches:

1. What are the business drivers for launching a new fund?
2. What are the key phases of a fund launch?
3. What capabilities are required to successfully launch a fund?
4. Which third-party providers should be engaged when launching funds?
5. What are the key challenges and risks when launching funds?

Analysis

1. What are the business drivers for launching a new fund?

For product leaders, launching a new investment fund is typically driven by a combination of strategic, regulatory, market, and operational factors. These reflect the evolving needs of UK investors, regulatory changes (such as Consumer Duty), and the commercial growth goals of asset managers and investment firms. Main drivers include:

• Product gaps and missed market opportunities: Existing product offerings may not fully capture emerging investor trends or demand for new asset classes, resulting in lost opportunities to attract and retain clients.
• Competitive pressure: Without a pipeline of innovative and differentiated products, an organisation risks losing market share to competitors who are quicker to respond to evolving market needs.
• Client retention and engagement: Failure to evolve the product suite to meet changing investor objectives—such as ESG integration or diversification—can lead to diminished investor loyalty and engagement.
• Stagnant asset growth: Limited product innovation may contribute to flat or declining assets under management, restricting the firm’s ability to scale operations and improve efficiency.
• Regulatory and distribution constraints: Inadequate fund structures can impact access to broader investor segments and complicate compliance with evolving regulatory requirements.
• Brand relevance and market positioning: The absence of forward-looking, competitive products can weaken the firm’s reputation as an industry leader and innovator.

Launching a new investment fund addresses these challenges by filling product gaps, enhancing competitive positioning, meeting investor requirements, and supporting sustainable business growth.

2. What are the key phases of a fund launch?

Launching a UK UCITS fund involves several interdependent phases, each with distinct business challenges. A successful roadmap requires strategic clarity, operational readiness, and rigorous compliance with regulators (e.g. FCA) requirements:

• Strategic planning and market assessment
  • Define the fund’s investment strategy, target UK investor base, and commercial objectives.
  • Assess market demand, competitor landscape, and alignment with the firm’s broader product suite.
  • Key challenge: Ensuring genuine market and customer needs and minimising overlap with existing products.
• Structuring and regulatory review
  • Determine the optimal legal structure (e.g., authorised unit trust, OEIC).
  • Consider the FCA’s regulatory environment, tax implications, and distribution strategy.
  • Key challenge: Balancing regulatory efficiency, cost, and market access.
• Service provider engagement and operating model design
  • Appoint core service providers: management company, depositary, fund administrator, transfer agent, auditor, and legal counsel.
  • Develop the target operating model, including seeding, subscriptions, redemptions, technology, reporting, and risk management frameworks.
  • Key challenge: Ensuring robust operational infrastructure and clear accountability.
• Documentation and regulatory preparation
  • Prepare and review the prospectus, supplement, legal agreements, risk management process, service agreements and business plan in line with COLL requirements.
  • Obtain approvals from internal governance committees.
  • Key challenge: Achieving accuracy and regulatory compliance in documentation.
• Regulator (e.g. FCA) authorisation
  • Submit the full application, including all supporting documents and due diligence on directors and service providers, to the FCA.
  • Respond to FCA queries and iterate documentation as needed.
  • Key challenge: Managing timelines and resources to prevent delays.
• Pre-marketing and distribution preparation
  • Finalise share class structure and distribution arrangements.
  • Prepare marketing materials and ensure compliance with UK and cross-border distribution rules.
  • Key challenge: Coordinating pre-launch marketing while ensuring all regulatory and operational requirements are met.
• Launch and post-launch oversight
  • Execute the fund launch, activate operational processes, and begin investor onboarding.
  • Monitor fund performance, compliance, and service provider delivery.
  • Key challenge: Ensuring a smooth transition to business-as-usual with effective oversight and controls.

Throughout each phase, leaders must anticipate and mitigate risks related to regulatory approval, operational complexity, and market fit, while maintaining a clear focus on commercial objectives and long-term scalability.

3. What capabilities are required to successfully launch a fund?

Successfully launching a new investment fund requires a set of integrated project management capabilities across strategy, operations, compliance, and investor engagement. Gaps in any of these areas can directly result in delays, regulatory setbacks, reputational damage, or failure to meet commercial objectives.

• Strategic planning and business case development: Define a compelling investment strategy and build a robust business case. Risk if absent: Misalignment with market demand, weak investor interest, and inability to secure internal or board approval.
• Regulatory and legal expertise: Deep understanding of the FCA’s COLL Sourcebook, UK UCITS structuring options, and licensing requirements, supported by specialist legal counsel. Risk if absent: Delays in authorisation, non-compliance penalties, or launch failure due to incomplete documentation or missed regulatory obligations.
• Operational infrastructure and service provider management: Design and implement a scalable operating model, including oversight of management companies, depositaries, administrators, and technology platforms. Risk if absent: Operational bottlenecks, errors/delays in NAV calculation or reporting, and potential breaches in investor servicing or asset safekeeping.
• Capital raising and investor relations: Effective marketing and investor engagement to secure commitments and maintain ongoing relationships. Risk if absent: Insufficient capital at launch, inability to reach minimum viable fund size, or weak post-launch asset growth.
• Financial and risk management: Rigorous budgeting, cash-flow forecasting, and risk management frameworks to meet FCA capital requirements. Risk if absent: Cost overruns, liquidity shortfalls, or breaches of regulatory capital thresholds.
• Governance and team expertise: Assemble a multidisciplinary team with expertise in portfolio management, compliance, operations, and client servicing, supported by strong governance structures. Risk if absent: Key person risk, lack of accountability, and exposure to operational or reputational failures.
• Project management: End-to-end planning, coordination, and oversight of the fund launch process, including milestones, stakeholder alignment, third-party delivery, and issue resolution. Risk if absent: Poor coordination between internal teams and external providers, missed deadlines, scope creep, and increased risk of launch delays or regulatory non-compliance.

Addressing these capabilities ensures the fund launch process is resilient, compliant, and positioned for commercial success.

4. Which third-party providers should be engaged when launching funds?

The successful launch of a UK UCITS fund relies on engaging a coordinated network of third-party providers, each addressing specific operational, regulatory, and commercial requirements. The proper selection of these partners can positively impact speed to market, compliance, cost efficiency, and ultimately, investor confidence.

• Management companies (Authorised Corporate Directors): Oversee regulatory compliance, risk management, fund governance, and reporting.
• Fund administrator: Handles fund accounting, NAV calculations, investor servicing, and regulatory filings.
• Depositary: Safeguards assets, monitors cash flows, and provides independent oversight for investor protection.
• Legal counsel: Advises on structuring, documentation, cross-border issues, and ongoing legal compliance.
• Independent auditor: Conducts annual audits, validates accounting and valuation practices, and supports transparency.
• Technology vendors: Support compliance monitoring, portfolio data integration, and investor reporting.
• Launch partner or strategic advisor: Coordinates cross-functional execution, provides project governance and supports strategic decision-making.

5. What are the key challenges and risks when launching funds?

Launching a new investment fund presents a range of challenges and risks that should be front-of-mind for any product leader. Addressing these issues early and proactively is critical to safeguarding timelines, budgets, investor confidence, and long-term commercial viability.

Conclusions

Launching funds is cross-functional and requires seamless coordination between regulatory compliance, innovation, operational excellence, and client-centricity. Drawing on proven frameworks and deep industry experience, firms can achieve stronger profitability and deliver superior client outcomes by:

• Translating strategic intent into actionable and market-relevant product initiatives.
• Navigating and adhering to complex FCA regulatory frameworks (e.g., COLL, MiFID II, Consumer Duty).
• Streamlining operational processes through targeted automation and best-in-class tools.

A disciplined, integrated approach accelerates time to market, reduces risk and builds long-term value for both the business and its clients.

Recommendations

Investment managers planning to launch new funds will benefit from a comprehensive, well-managed strategy that addresses each stage of the process. Based on our extensive experience supporting successful fund launches, we recommend the following actions:

• Strategic Design: Facilitate discovery workshops to define the product proposition, clarify the target client profile, and validate strategic alignment within the broader business context.
• Regulatory Compliance: Conduct thorough regulatory scoping and analysis to identify all relevant frameworks and regimes (e.g., COLL, MiFID II, SFDR, UCITS, AIFMD, Consumer Duty), ensuring a clear path to approval and distribution.
• Operational Delivery: Implement robust processes, clear governance, detailed planning, readiness assessments, and coordinated execution to optimise operational efficiency and support a smooth, timely launch.

Collaboration with an experienced partner can help mitigate risks, accelerate delivery, and ensure that each product launch is positioned for measurable commercial and client success.

Case Studies

• Launch of multi-manager money market fund as part of a bespoke client solution (seeded with $4bn).
• Launch of a cross-platform investment fund for a global asset manager ($20mm fund assets as at July 2025).
• Launch of 10 retail investment funds for a UK investment manager, totalling circa £12bn AUM.

Next Steps

At PryceWilliams, we specialise in supporting senior decision-makers who drive growth and product innovation. Whether planning a new product launch or optimising an in-progress initiative, our team can provide expert guidance at any stage. Contact us for a confidential discussion to identify opportunities, address challenges, and accelerate your product’s path to market.