Market Abuse (MAR)
Market abuse training on the UK MAR for financial services, covering insider dealing, unlawful disclosure, market manipulation and STOR reporting.
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Request a demoWhat is market abuse and why does it matter?
Market abuse undermines the integrity of financial markets and investor confidence. In the UK it is governed by the Market Abuse Regulation (UK MAR), enforced by the FCA. MAR captures three core behaviours: insider dealing, the unlawful disclosure of inside information and market manipulation. The regime applies broadly across financial instruments and to anyone whose work touches sensitive, price-forming information.
Why are the stakes so high for individuals?
Breaches can lead to civil penalties, criminal prosecution and lasting reputational damage. An individual who deals on inside information, or passes it to someone who does, may face an unlimited fine and a custodial sentence. Even an accidental disclosure, whether a careless conversation or a misdirected email, can expose your firm to enforcement. Awareness across the business is your first line of defence.
What does market abuse training cover?
This course gives your team a working understanding of MAR in plain English. It explains how to recognise inside information and handle it correctly, how to tell insider dealing and unlawful disclosure apart from legitimate activity, and how to identify market manipulation. It also covers what your firm must do to detect and report suspicious activity through suspicious transaction and order reports (STORs).
What does the FCA expect from market abuse training?
The FCA expects firms subject to UK MAR to make relevant staff aware of their obligations and to maintain effective arrangements to detect and report suspicious activity. Training should build genuine judgement about where the boundaries lie. We use realistic, scenario-based examples drawn from trading, research and corporate finance, kept current with UK regulation as it evolves.
It is designed for staff in trading, research, corporate finance and asset management, together with the control functions that support them.
What your team will learn
- Explain the scope of the UK Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
- Distinguish insider dealing, unlawful disclosure and manipulation
- Recognise inside information and how it must be handled
- Identify the firm's surveillance and reporting obligations
What's included
- ~20 min of focused, scenario-based learning
- CPD accredited (CII)
- Built-in quiz with a configurable pass mark
- Reviewed and kept current with UK regulation
- Time-stamped completion records for your audit trail
How it works
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Assign it in seconds
Enrol a team, a role or your whole firm from the CityREPORTS dashboard, with automated reminders that chase completion for you.
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Your team completes it
Learners work through the course at their own pace on any device, finishing with a short assessment that demonstrates understanding.
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Evidence it to the regulator
Every completion is time-stamped and retained, so you can prove the right people did the right training at any moment.
Frequently asked questions
- Who needs market abuse training in the UK?
- Anyone whose work brings them into contact with inside information or financial markets, including staff in trading, research, corporate finance and asset management, plus the control functions that support them. Firms subject to the UK Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) are expected to make relevant staff aware of their obligations.
- What does the UK Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) prohibit?
- MAR prohibits three core behaviours: insider dealing (dealing on inside information), the unlawful disclosure of inside information, and market manipulation that creates a false or misleading impression of supply, demand or price. It is enforced by the FCA and applies broadly across financial instruments and trading venues.
- When must a firm submit a STOR and who is responsible for filing one?
- A STOR must be submitted to the FCA when there is reasonable suspicion that an order or transaction may involve insider dealing or market manipulation. MAR requires firms to have arrangements to detect suspicious activity and designated staff, typically in trading, compliance and surveillance, who know when and how to file. Failure to report when required is itself a breach.
- What are the penalties for market abuse?
- Breaches of MAR can lead to unlimited civil penalties imposed by the FCA, and insider dealing and manipulation can be prosecuted as criminal offences carrying fines and imprisonment. The consequences are personal to the individual involved, as well as exposing the firm to enforcement and reputational harm.
- What controls must firms put in place for inside information under UK MAR?
- Firms must identify inside information, meaning precise, non-public, price-sensitive information, control its flow through information barriers, maintain insider lists, and prevent misuse through dealing or unlawful disclosure. Training helps staff recognise when they hold inside information and understand their personal obligations, including the prohibition on tipping off and the duty to escalate.
- How often is market abuse training required?
- There is no fixed statutory interval under UK MAR, but the FCA expects firms to make relevant staff aware of their obligations and keep that awareness current. Annual refreshers are the industry norm, with additional training when roles change, new instruments are traded, or regulatory expectations or surveillance findings evolve.
- How does market abuse training relate to the Conduct Rules?
- Observing proper standards of market conduct is the fifth Individual Conduct Rule under SM&CR. Market abuse training helps staff meet that rule by understanding what behaviour MAR prohibits. A market abuse breach can therefore also be a Conduct Rules breach, with personal regulatory consequences for the individual.
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