By
Cory Roberson, Principal at FIN Compliance and FIN Lancer
July 30,
2018. To advance the customization of advisory compliance programs, we
launched a training video series as a part of our regulatory management system
at RIA Review.
RIA Review is a
documentation-based solution to help boutique investment advisors to maintain
an internal compliance review program.
Our Premium and
Premium Plus users
will have access to our recorded webinar library that contains insight on
compliance topics and regulations issued by the: Securities & Exchange
Commission (“SEC”), Office of Compliance Inspections & Examinations,
Division of Investment Management, FINRA, state securities agencies, and the
North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA).
With no surprise, the securities compliance
industry contains a broad spectrum of rules and regulations. As such, RIA Review focuses on training
topics that are applicable to the boutique investment advisory and/or hybrid RIA/broker-dealer
space*.
*SEC Rule 206(4)-7, state rules, FINRA Rule
3010, 3120
**SEC Rule 203(a)-2(e)
With RIA Review, our goal is for firms to structure
a methodical process for:
Conducting a review
of policies
to comply with SEC, FINRA, and similar state provisions, Managing its
periodic tasks in alignment with regulatory filing systems, risk alerts,
and policy guidance, Utilizing checklists to break down a review into
manageable steps, and/or Creating a schedule to generate documentation
for audit prep purposes.
Our
library delves into topics such as the following:
Examination
and Audit Prep Processes
In terms of SEC-Advisor Examination prep,
our material looks into an actual audit documentation request process. Similarly, as with our California Advisor Examination
prep video, our training moves its
lens onto the California Department of Business Oversight process of preparing
for an audit.
Forensic
Reviews of trading and more
A Best Execution Review video outlines practical steps for firms to perform an assessment of its
transactional quality reports. Advisors
should note that Rule 605/606 (transactional quality) reports are available
through the firm’s brokerage house that processes client trades. Moreover, our Robo-Advisory Review
video outlines the process for firms who provide advice (or receive services)
through an algorithmic trading platform via the internet (ref. Rule 203(a)-2(e)
“Internet Investment Advisors”).
Our Policies and Procedures review instructions
includes tips for using our online Review Center, which is designed for
breaking down the firm’s compliance program into a: Monthly, Quarterly, Annual, or Ongoing
series of checks. In addition, there is
a series of checklists for premium/premium plus users to tailor its reviews of
specific policies.
Ongoing
Functions
An Advertising & Compliance video evaluates
common discrepancies of marketing materials from more than 1500 firms reviewed
by the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections & Examinations (“OCIE”). (ref.
“touting initiative, third-party accolades, use of professional designations).
Post Registration & Annual fees training discusses common
firm client/regulatory deliverables, documentation, forms, and annual dues
applicable for a registered advisory firm.
Adding or Updating a Rep discusses the
process for: (1) Adding, (2) Deleting, and/or (3) Updating information for an
investment advisor representative (IAR) filing.
Disclosure documents may include a: U-4, U-5 and/or ADV filing.
Hiring
A Solicitors and more videos will be available to
Premium and Premium Plus Users of RIA Review.
Compliance Management Services - starting at $995 & up:
Free
Version (free/limited) – basic resources to get started
Premium
Version ($995/1-yr) – for state registrants not required for perform annual review
Premium
Plus Version ($1195/1-yr) * - for SEC and state
registrants required to do annual review
Contact
Us for special offers and/or consulting assistance:
Win of the Month: When a documentation trail can save you from
examiner fines.
Examiner – accused client of failing to adhere to registration
statute—levied a heavy fine/censure
Cory - We worked to produce documentation
trail to prove efforts to comply.
Attorney – Helped to advocate our case
Result – Examiners waived a fine and censure.
No DRP required
WIN, WIN!!!
Making your own documentation trail for
auditors
Three suggestions include:
Use an
electronic database or client relationship management system (CRM). Advisors should consider attaching correspondence to its database
to provide a system for documentation.
Take
notes following a client meeting. Firms should consider placing notes of communications
following a review meeting for documents such as (1) Brokerage agreements, (2)
Advisory Contracts, (3) Client objectives, and (4) all other meeting-related
information. (reminder for files in electronic storage format). SEC Rule 204-2, 17a-3, 17a-4, and similar state rules.
Save Email
Records.
Firms should maintain a record of email communications with clients into
its directory/database/CRM. SEC Rule
204-2 or Securities Exchange Act Rule 17a-3 requires the storage and monitoring
of electronic communication for certain firms (e.g. broker-dealers). There are several email-compliant solutions
available in the marketplace.
Other Regulatory Webinars
We
will be announcing public regulatory webinars that will feature service
providers in the FinTech, RegTech, Crypto and
Blockchain communities.
Stay tuned for announcements as we prepare the launch of an upcoming
platform.
Compliance and Business Management
FIN Compliance (FINCompliance.io) is a
consortium of compliance services including: RIA Consults-Roberson Consults
Group, a compliance consulting firm, RIA Review, a compliance-management
software tool (SaaS), B-D Review, a RIA/Broker-Dealer compliance management
software tool, and FINLancer is a business
management portal featuring: E-signature tools; Invoicing integration,
Vendor Directory, continuity directory*, business client document portal, and
more (available by Q3 2019). Access all services
on one site: FINCompliance.io.
Impact
FIN Missions (FINmissions.com) provides business support group
sessions for other entrepreneurs. In addition, Cory has volunteered
for more than fifteen youth programs in locations such as like S. Korea, China,
S. Africa, Thailand, and India.
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