An investment adviser firm and its investment adviser representatives are uniquely placed to spot signs of financial exploitation that may be happening to their investment advisory clients. An investment adviser representative is often on the front lines of a client’s finances and becomes quite familiar with a client’s habits, preferences, and personal situation. This knowledge can help the investment adviser representative spot unusual patterns and suspicious requests, whether made directly by the client or by a third party.
Category Archives: Compliance Tool
Additions to RIA Compliance Consultants’ Sample Forms Library
January 17, 2017
RIA Compliance Consultants added four new Sample Forms to our Sample Forms Library. The new Sample Forms are:
Investment Advisers Must Review their Written Policies and Procedures at Least Annually
October 30, 2013
Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Investment Advisers Act”) requires investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) to:
Investment Advisers Must Customize Their Compliance Programs
October 01, 2013
As we previously indicated, many investment advisers registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) still have trouble meeting the requirements of Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Investment Advisers Act”). Pursuant to Rule 206(4)-7, investment advisers registered with the SEC are required to establish and maintain written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Investment Advisers Act and the rules under the Investment Adviser Act. Most state securities regulations have similar requirements and many state registered investment advisers also have trouble complying with these requirements.
Over the past year, we have written several articles warning investment advisers to prepare for regulatory examinations as both the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and state securities regulators have indicated that investment advisers should expect to see an increase in the number of exams being conducted. RIA Compliance Consultants is seeing the effects of more frequent investment adviser exams. Lately, we have experienced an increase in the number of calls from clients and prospective clients because they have recently been trough an SEC or state investment adviser exam or have been notified by an SEC or state securities regulator that their investment advisers will be audited in the near future. One of the most common inquiries we are receiving is regarding what we can do to assist with preparing or updating the investment adviser’s written policies and procedures. Too often, we are hearing that, although the investment adviser has been registered for some time, the investment adviser does not have customized written supervisory policies and procedures or has not properly maintained current and customized policies and procedures.
An investment adviser is required to prepare and submit a completed Form ADV as part of the initial registration process. In addition to the review by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) or state securities regulator(s) for purposes of determining whether to approve or deny an application for investment adviser registration, the Form ADV Part 2 is also used as the investment adviser’s disclosure document which is required to be provided to all investment advisory clients.
Investment advisers must develop a strong culture of compliance within the investment adviser firm in order to help prevent and detect regulatory violations. In order to do so, investment advisers must figure out a way to stay current on regulatory changes and current areas of focus and should provide ongoing training to the investment adviser’s supervised persons. RIA Compliance Consultants provides a wide variety of investment adviser compliance webinars to help investment advisers understand ongoing compliance requirements, key areas of regulatory focus, and regulatory changes. Investment advisers can now purchase a yearly subscription webinar package. Investment advisers purchasing the yearly subscription webinar package will be provided unlimited access to any live and previously recorded webinars hosted by RIA Compliance Consultants during the term of the engagement. We have over 30 previously recorded webinars in our library and typically host at least 10 live webinars per year. Your investment adviser can use the webinars presented by RIA Compliance Consultants to assist your investment adviser with new staff training on basic investment adviser compliance, to learn best practices tips for chief compliance officers and to help the investment adviser stay current on recent regulatory developments. By purchasing this annual subscription now, your investment adviser can immediately reduce the average cost of attending multiple investment advisory compliance webinars presented by RIA Compliance Consultants and make sure that you and your supervised person have access to outstanding investment adviser compliance training presented by our veteran compliance consultants. To view our library of previously recorded webinars, please click here and to view our current schedule for live webinars, please click here. We update our live webinars schedule frequently, so please continue to check back for an updated schedule. To learn more about our compliance webinars package program or to purchase this package, please click here.
Has your investment advisor conducted a review of its compliance program? Is a consultant led compliance review beyond your budget this year?
Conduct a Self-Directed Annual Review of Your Investment Advisor’s Compliance Program
April 24, 2013
Is your SEC registered investment advisor firm looking for assistance in completing an annual review of its compliance program pursuant to SEC Rule 206(4)-7 or preparing for an SEC examination or audit, but a consultant led annual review or mock investment advisor examination is beyond your investment advisor firm’s compliance budget?
By now, a registered investment adviser with a December fiscal year end should have filed its Form ADV annual updating amendment that is due each year within 90 days of the investment adviser’s fiscal year end. An investment adviser needs to understand that failure to update the Form ADV, as required by the Form ADV General Instructions, is a violation of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and similar state rules that could lead to an investment adviser’s registration being revoked. A registered investment adviser with a fiscal year end other than December must make sure to file its annual updating amendment within 90 days of the investment adviser firm’s fiscal year end.
