The U.S. Department of Labor has announced an 18-month extension from Jan. 1, 2018, to July 1, 2019, of the special Transition Period for the Fiduciary Rule’s Best Interest Contract Exemption and the Principal Transactions Exemption, and of the applicability … Continued
The purpose of this Compliance Alert is to familiarize you with key insider trading concepts and issues. What is Insider Trading? The buying or selling of a security, in breach of a fiduciary duty or other relationship of trust and … Continued
As part of its 2015 exam priorities, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) cited their continued focus on cybersecurity issues. If you remember back, in April of 2014 OCIE issued a Risk Alert detailing its initiative to assess cybersecurity preparedness. … Continued
The purpose of this compliance training material is to familiarize you with key issues regarding information security. Overview One of the most pressing compliance issues for investment advisers is how to satisfy SEC requirements in the area of information security. … Continued
The SEC today announced its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations’ (commonly known as OCIE) priorities for 2015 which focus on three areas: protecting retail investors, especially those saving for or in retirement; assessing market-wide risks; and using data analytics to … Continued
A copy of the SEC Social Media Document Request Letter is reprinted below. Perhaps it is time to revisit your social media policies and procedures. …………………. DOCUMENTS TO BE PRODUCED Please produce the following documents within Adviser’s possession or custody … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, The SEC today announced that its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) is launching an initiative directed at investment advisers that have never been examined, focusing on those that have been registered with the SEC for … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, As part of its 2014 Exam priorities, the SEC announced that the “staff will utilize a number of strategies to conduct focused, risk-based examinations of the adviser population that has been registered for more than three years … Continued
Seven federal regulatory agencies today issued guidance to clarify that the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act generally permit financial institutions to report suspected elder financial abuse to appropriate authorities. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act generally requires that a financial institution notify … Continued
The alert by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) comes after a review of recent examinations where significant deficiencies were identified showed custody-related issues in about one-third of the firms examined. The advisers’ deficiencies included: Failure to … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, The National Examination Program (NEP) of the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations recently released its examination priorities for 2013. The NEP release addresses both market-wide priorities and priorities for each of the NEP’s four … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, Continuing on with our New Year’s compliance resolutions. . . Conduct a Risk Assessment It is clear from the recent trend of SEC examinations that regulators are sanctioning advisory firms that do not conduct an annual risk … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, As we start the new year, I think it appropriate that investment advisers add a few compliance-related resolutions to go along with the more typical “eat healthy, exercise more” resolutions we usually break by the second week … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, We have just been notified by one of our clients of a wire fraud scam and wanted to bring it to your immediate attention. A cyber criminal created a fake client email message in an attempt to … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, Recently the SEC tightened its rule on investment advisory performance fees by raising the net worth requirement for investors who pay performance fees and by excluding the value of the investor’s home from the net worth calculation. … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, Rarely do we see the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations issue a National Examination Risk Alert. So when they do, we pay particular attention. Last week, OCIE issued just such a National Examination Risk Alert … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, The protection of a client’s non-public personal information is one of the most important tasks entrusted to an investment adviser. Unfortunately, it is also one of the most vexing issues confronting compliance professionals. Any time an adviser … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, The adoption by the SEC of a series of rules intended to effectuate certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act has ushered in many significant changes for investment advisers. Some of those changes (e.g., the … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, I hope this finds all of you and your families up and down the East Coast safe and sound. Earthquakes and hurricanes – two phenomena not usually associated with this neck of the woods (or Colorado, for … Continued
Dear Compliance Professional, The Compliance Alert below was originally sent out in 2008. Unfortunately, recent market events make the subject matter relevant once again. We will also be sending out other pertinent Compliance Alerts from 2008-2009. Background The purpose of … Continued