Brickwood Asset Management Taps FinScan for Advanced AML and Sanctions Screening

UK-based Brickwood Asset Management has selected FinScan to automate the screening of fund issuers and their directors against global sanctions and adverse media. For fintech professionals, this move highlights the growing trend of boutique asset managers adopting enterprise-grade AML technology to meet heightened regulatory scrutiny and allocator expectations for robust compliance controls.

What was announced

Brickwood Asset Management, an independent boutique focused on value equities, will use the FinScan platform to support its regulatory requirements. The implementation focuses on the ongoing screening of corporate entities and individuals associated with the issuers held within Brickwood's funds. This includes real-time name screening against global sanctions lists, Politically Exposed Persons (PEP) data, and adverse media.

The FinScan solution is designed to handle the complexities of corporate entity screening by providing a unified platform. It utilizes customizable matching technology aimed at increasing accuracy and reducing the volume of duplicate or low-value alerts. This "explainability" feature allows the firm to maintain a documented audit trail for every review, which is a critical component for regulatory reporting and internal compliance audits.

While screening against global sanctions is a mandatory regulatory requirement, Brickwood has opted to include adverse media screening as an additional layer of risk management. This broader scope covers both the holdings themselves and the directors of those companies, ensuring that potential reputational or financial risks are identified even if they have not yet resulted in formal sanctions. The platform provides ongoing coverage across these categories, ensuring that any changes in the risk profile of an issuer or director are flagged immediately rather than waiting for a periodic manual review.

"Screening the issuers we hold against global sanctions is a core regulatory requirement, and ensuring that process is supported by a high-quality screening solution was an important consideration for us. Adverse media screening is a step we chose to take beyond that requirement. FinScan gives us ongoing coverage across both, with a clear audit trail behind every review."

Claudia Ripley, CEO at Brickwood Asset Management.

The companies involved

FinScan is a specialized anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) solution provided by Innovative Systems, Inc. Based in Pittsburgh, Innovative Systems has established itself as a significant player in the data quality and compliance market, with FinScan serving as its flagship brand for financial crime prevention. The platform is used globally by financial institutions to manage risk through sophisticated data matching and cleansing technologies, focusing on reducing false positives in high-volume environments.

Brickwood Asset Management is a UK-based independent value equities boutique. The firm was established by a team of professionals drawn from several leading UK and international asset management houses. It operates in a segment of the market where institutional allocators increasingly demand the same level of operational and compliance infrastructure found at much larger firms. Brickwood focuses on a value-driven investment philosophy, and its partnership with FinScan represents a commitment to institutional-grade risk management. The firm’s decision to integrate advanced screening tools reflects a broader shift among boutique managers to internalize complex compliance functions that were previously handled through manual processes or third-party providers.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has followed FinScan’s technical evolution and its expanding footprint in the AML sector. We previously covered how FinScan and Quantifind Partner to Boost AML Compliance with AI Adverse Media Intelligence, a move that strengthened the platform's ability to uncover hidden risks through artificial intelligence. Additionally, the company achieved a significant milestone when FinScan Becomes First AML Provider to Achieve LSEG World-Check On Demand Technical Validation, highlighting its integration capabilities with major global data providers. Our reporting has also touched on the firm’s broader strategy for international growth and data quality, as seen in FinScan Advances AML Compliance by Strengthening Real-time Payments, Data Quality, and Global Reach.

What this means

This partnership signals a tightening of the compliance net within the boutique asset management space. Historically, smaller firms relied on periodic manual checks, but the move toward real-time, ongoing screening of both issuers and directors suggests that "set and forget" compliance is no longer viable. The inclusion of adverse media screening—which is not strictly mandated but increasingly expected—puts pressure on other mid-tier managers to justify why they aren't performing similar due diligence. It raises a critical question for the sector: as regulators demand more "explainability" in matching algorithms, can legacy providers keep pace with the transparency offered by newer, data-centric platforms? The industry is clearly moving toward a standard where the audit trail is as important as the screening itself.