Cohen Faces U.K. Setback as FCA Blocks Point72 Opening

(Bloomberg) -- Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management has been blocked by the U.K. regulator from opening his hedge fund in Britain, a setback for the billionaire in one of the world’s largest investment hubs, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

The Financial Conduct Authority took the step because it deemed Cohen isn’t a fit and proper person, the person said, asking not to be identified because he wasn’t authorized to speak on the matter. Spokesmen for the FCA and Point72 declined to comment. The Financial Times reported the news earlier.

The FCA last year told the firm informally that it was unlikely to grant approval for Cohen’s hedge fund because a U.S. regulator had barred him from managing external clients’ money until 2018, a person said at the time.

Cohen began managing money for external investors earlier this year. In 2013, his firm -- formerly called SAC Capital Advisors -- pleaded guilty to securities fraud and agreed to convert to a family office. SAC agreed to pay a record $1.8 billion fine. Cohen himself wasn’t charged with any wrongdoing.

--With assistance from Suzy Waite, Bei Hu and Stephanie Bodoni.

To contact the reporters on this story: Franz Wild in London at fwild@bloomberg.net;Nishant Kumar in London at nkumar173@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Neil Callanan at ncallanan@bloomberg.net, Andrew Blackman, Paul Armstrong

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