Category Archives: Compliance Program
With the upcoming regulatory switch of mid-sized investment advisers from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to state securities regulators and Congress considering whether to authorize a self-regulatory organization (“SRO”) for investment advisers, we believe that the frequency of investment adviser examinations is going to rise. During a regulatory exam, your investment adviser firm [...]
Posted by Bryan Hill
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
The best approach for an investment adviser firm to prepare for a regulatory examination begins with ongoing compliance training. A report released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC) on February 2011, stated “In most cases, the staff considers the quality of the [investment adviser’s] compliance systems and its internal control environment when determining [...]
Posted by Bryan Hill
Friday, September 9, 2011
Your investment adviser’s chief compliance officer (“CCO”) must be knowledgeable regarding the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, competent in regard to administering your compliance program and empowered to enforce compliance with your policies and procedures. Your investment adviser’s CCO is responsible for administering your investment advisers’ policies and procedures. This does not necessarily mean that [...]
When establishing a compliance program, an investment adviser is required to review and monitor the personal securities transactions by “access persons” in order to prevent inappropriate trading. In order to supervise personal securities transactions, the first question is determining which individuals are access persons. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) defines an “access person” [...]
Today, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its July 2008 ComplianceAlert letter which identifies and describes common deficiencies and weaknesses that SEC examiners have found during compliance examinations of SEC registered investment advisers/mutual funds, broker-dealers, and transfer agents. The release, which is considered official comment from the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and [...]
With the end of first quarter 2008, RIA Compliance Consultants would like to remind SEC registered investment advisors of their requirement to collect or prepare updated personal securities transaction reports from all access persons. The information on the reports must reflect transactions that took place during first quarter of 2008 and must officially be reported [...]
On March 20, Lori Richards, Director – SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, delivered a speech explaining the SEC’s current registered investment advisor examination priorities. The speech highlights the “top 10″ areas of focus during routine examinations. While not an official statement from the SEC, Ms. Richards’ speech provides excellent insight into the current [...]
RIA Compliance Consultants, Inc. would like to remind all SEC registered advisor firms of their obligation to collect and review first quarter personal securities transactions. These reports should have been officially collected by the end of April. If your investment advisor firm has not collected its reports, please make sure you do so as soon [...]
Earlier this week, the NASD fined four broker-dealers affiliated with Fidelity Investments. According to the news release published on its website (www.nasd.com), NASD fined the firm a total of $3.75 million for, “improperly maintaining NASD registrations for 1,100 individuals, failing to assign registered supervisors to 1,000 individuals, failing to retain the email of 1,900 registered [...]
Posted by Bryan Hill
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
If your firm is registered with a state regulatory body, are you aware that some sections of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 do apply to your firm? Many state registered firms believe because they are exempt from SEC registration, they are also exempt from all requirements and provisions of the Advisers Act. While it [...]
Posted by Bryan Hill
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
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