The Financial Conduct Authority has written to investors in Novus Black Fund UK Ltd about "significant losses" not reported to them by the alternative investment fund.

The Novus Black Fund is managed by MCI Global Investment Advisors Limited (MCI).

It is an FX fund for HNW and professional investors.

The regulator said it believes the fund has experienced “significant losses” which have not been reported to its investors.

London-based MCI (firm ref: 948996) applied to cancel its authorisation with the FCA in September but must still meet the regulator’s standards in dealing with its customers.

The firm has been directly registered with the regulator since January 2022 but was previously an appointed representative of Global Investment Strategy UK Ltd. MCI was founded by Gary Wayne in 2011. He previously managed brokerage and trading houses covering derivatives, futures, foreign exchange and global equities.

The investment manager has had restrictions in place from the FCA since 8 August, when the regulator required it to stop taking on any new business.

MCI has agreed to make sure no trade or payments are allowed on any trading accounts held by the Novus Black Fund, close any open investment positions held by the fund and notify investors of the restrictions.

FCA regulations require alternative investment funds to have a regulated fund manager, known as an authorised alternative investment fund manager (AIFM).

Among the roles of an AIFM is to manage assets held by the fund and to provide risk management.

The FCA said it is unable to comment any further at this time but will provide further updates in due course.

MCI also operates broker Bespoke UK Capital Ltd. The FCA has also placed restrictions on the Bespoke broker accounts. MCI must provide daily reporting of the broker account balances to the FCA and instruct any transfer in relation to this broker balance in accordance with instructions to be provided by the FCA in writing.