Trading other people's money, in the UK, FSA, legalities et al

Hello, I'm trying to understand what seems to be a grey area of the FSA's laws; trading OPM.

One view I hear is; you must get FSA authorisation, which is a non refundable £1500. May I ask; what does the authorisation process involve? Would someone who has just turned 18 pass?

The other I hear is, as long as you don't officially solicit/advertise for funding, there's no need. Is this true?

Finally, would trading an overseas account, i.e. not from the UK, still require FSA approval?

To my understanding a simple POA will not legally allow someone to derive an income from trading someone's account.

Thanks...

If you are going to trade smb else's money in the UK you are for sure to be authorised, that is you have to pass some exams and get certificates.
I can't tell you for sure whether, being a UK resident, you have to be authorised working with non-UK resident... but if your investor is from some European country or from the USA, then again you should be authorised by the regulatory authorities of that country.