The North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc. (“NASAA”) recently released a white paper detailing the results of a study conducted by its Senior Issues/Diminished Capacity Committee. While many investment adviser firms are increasingly aware of issues related to diminished capacity in clients, NASAA has found that not all registered investment advisers are prepared to identify and address diminished capacity among investment adviser representatives. As part of the study, NASAA surveyed a number of financial institutions and industry professionals including Bryan Hill, President of RIA Compliance Consultants, Inc.
Category Archives: Seniors
World Elder Abuse Awareness Day – What Investment Advisers Can Do to Protect Vulnerable Clients
June 12, 2020
June 15 is World Elder Abuse Awareness Day (WEAAD). WEAAD was launched by the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and the World Health Organization at the United Nations. The purpose of WEAAD is to provide an opportunity for communities around the world to promote a better understanding of abuse and neglect of older persons by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes affecting elder abuse and neglect.
Lessons from a State Securities Regulator and Adult Protective Services About Reporting Elder Abuse
January 25, 2020
Last week, RIA Compliance Consultants hosted a webinar entitled “How to Report Elder Abuse to Adult Protective Services” in which a state securities regulator and an official from a state’s adult protective services agency discussed how an investment adviser firm can more effectively report elder abuse and better protect its senior and vulnerable clients.
Learn How Your Investment Adviser Can Improve Its Report of Elder Abuse to Adult Protective Services
January 20, 2020
Many state legislatures in the U.S. have recently passed legislation mandating that investment adviser firms and their supervised persons report instances of elder abuse by third parties to the applicable authority in the state (e.g., adult protective service, attorney general’s office). Moreover, many securities regulators have passed specific rules requiring mandatory reporting of elder abuse and/or taken the position that reporting instances of elder abuse is essentially part of an investment adviser firm’s fiduciary duty to act in a client’s best interest.
RIA Compliance Consultants is offering two investment advisor compliance webinars in January. On Thursday, January 16, 2020, Bryan Hill, the president of RCC hosted, “SEC’s 2020 Exam Priorities for Investment Advisers,” A recording of this one our webinar can be purchased through the following link “SEC’s 2020 Exam Priorities for Investment Advisers”.
Making the Reporting of Elder Abuse Easier for Investment Advisers
November 28, 2019
When an investment adviser firm suspects a vulnerable or senior client is being exploited financially by a third-party, one of the biggest challenges for the chief compliance officer (“CCO”) is knowing where exactly to report such suspicions of abuse.
Is Your Investment Adviser Subject to Mandatory Reporting of Financial Exploitation of Senior Clients?
July 17, 2018
Recently, there has been a wave of legislation and regulatory action focused on senior investor protections. The U.S. Congress just passed the Senior Safe Act, a law which provides legal immunity to an investment adviser, if the investment adviser meets certain requirements, for the act of reporting suspected senior financial exploitation. Both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and FINRA have had a senior investor exam initiative going on since 2014. In addition, almost every state has a law pertaining to senior exploitation.
Has Your Investment Adviser Updated its Compliance Manual and Training Since Passage of Senior Safe Act?
June 28, 2018
State and federal legislators have recognized that employees of investment adviser firms are likely to be one of the first people to see signs of financial exploitation in their senior and vulnerable clients. This has led to nearly every state passing legislation on this topic, and now the federal government has as well.
Investment Advisers Need to Train Supervised Persons and Update Compliance Manual Due to Recent Passage of Senior Safe Act
June 12, 2018
Over the past several years, there has been a significant amount of movement within the financial services industry to develop policies, rules, and regulations that help safe guard the senior investor community. In 2014, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in coordination with FINRA, released a report on a recent senior investor initiative they had conducted. The exams that comprised the report focused on issues of suitability of investments for seniors, disclosures, account documentation, diminished capacity, and senior financial exploitation. This initiative showed that the SEC was taking an interest in senior protections and that investment advisers must follow different policies and procedures when recommending securities to and working with senior clients.
Senior Safe Act Passed – Protecting Senior Investors
June 05, 2018
On May 24, 2018 Pres. Trump signed the Senior Safe Act. The Senior Safe Act encourages financial services firms such as investment adviser firms to train employees to spot elder abuse, while granting limited immunity to individuals at financial institutions who report such abuse to law enforcement or regulators in accordance with the Act. The banking reform package of which the Senior Safe Act is part, formally known as S. 2155 or the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act, modifies provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.
