FCMA does not deal in speculation. Every facility is anchored to demonstrable physical exposure, a written hedging policy and a properly classified counterparty — reviewed at every stage of the engagement.
Onboarding, analysis and execution are not discrete events. Each stage continuously informs the next, and every active mandate is subject to periodic re-assessment of suitability and exposure.
Client classification under FCA rules (professional client / eligible counterparty), KYC and corporate documentation review, governance approvals, and the establishment of a written hedging mandate aligned to your treasury policy and accounting framework.
Quantification of physical and translational exposure across gold, silver, nickel and copper. Timing-mismatch identification, currency overlay assessment, and documentation of underlying basis risk between physical contract and hedge instrument.
Disciplined execution into deep, regulated venues with full pre-trade pricing transparency. Position reporting, mark-to-market valuations, hedge effectiveness testing and policy compliance reviews delivered on a defined cadence.
Before any facility is opened, we work with the client to establish that hedging is appropriate, that the proposed structures match the underlying exposure, and that the mandate is documented in a form that survives personnel turnover.
Categorisation as professional client or eligible counterparty under FCA conduct of business rules, with the appropriate disclosures, warnings and investor protections applied to the relationship.
KYC and AML diligence on the legal entity and beneficial ownership, board resolutions where required, signing-authority verification, and review of any existing ISDA or master agreements.
Drafting or review of a written hedging policy that establishes the permitted instruments, notional limits, tenor constraints, accounting designations and approval workflow.
Identification of the approving body (treasury committee, board, audit committee) and confirmation that the mandate has the appropriate level of internal authorisation before any trade.
A hedge can only be designed against an exposure that has been precisely identified and quantified. We dedicate disproportionate time to this stage because it determines whether a hedge will actually offset the risk it is intended to address.
Tonnage by metal, by location, by timing — separating committed from forecasted exposure and noting the confidence interval of forecasted volumes.
Identification of the currency in which the cost is incurred versus the currency of the metal benchmark, and the appropriate FX overlay to deliver clean home-currency cost certainty.
Documentation of the basis between the physical contract reference and the hedge instrument — including premium/discount conventions, location differentials and quality adjustments.
Pre-trade hedge effectiveness assessment to support hedge accounting designation, with prospective testing methodology agreed with the client's auditors where applicable.
For clients that wish to apply hedge accounting to reduce P&L volatility, FCMA provides documentation aligned to the formal designation requirements of IFRS 9 and FRS 102 — including hedge ratio specification, effectiveness testing methodology, and ongoing testing support.
Where the client's auditors require specific testing methodology, or where the underlying physical contract has features that make standard hedge accounting application difficult, we engage with the audit team in advance.
FCMA does not provide accounting advice and clients should obtain independent guidance — but we ensure the trade documentation supports the accounting treatment the client intends to adopt.
Initial discussions are exploratory and obligation-free. The onboarding desk handles all enquiries under strict confidentiality.
Speak to a specialist →