2026 Division of Examinations Exam Priorities | Key Takeaways
SEC Releases
Introduction
On November 17, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Examinations (EXAMS) released its Fiscal Year 2026 Examination Priorities.
These priorities provide a forward-looking roadmap of the areas in which the SEC plans to focus its examination resources, signaling risk themes and regulatory attention across RIAs, RICs, and Broker Dealers.
While many of the core risk areas remain consistent, the 2026 priorities reflect some evolution in emphasis, particularly around new Rules, technological risk, and operational resilience, underscoring how Firms should continue to adapt their compliance programs.
Who Is This Applicable To?
- Registered Investment Advisers (“RIAs”)
- Registered Investment Companies (“RICs”)
- FINRA Registered Broker Dealers
Key Takeaways from the 2026 Exam Priorities
1. Compliance Program Effectiveness
- The SEC continues to emphasize the evaluation of Advisers’ Compliance Programs, such as marketing, valuation, trading, portfolio management, disclosure and filings, custody.
- The SEC will assess Annual Reviews of compliance policies to ensure they are not just written but effectively enforced.
- Particular focus on fee-related conflicts (e.g., how compensation structures, account/product fees may create or worsen conflicts).
- For activist advisers, the SEC may look at their filings (Schedules 13D/G, 13F, Form 3/4/5, N-PX) for timing/accuracy, as well as their compliance when changing business models or asset classes.
2. Never-Examined & Recently Registered Advisers
- As in prior years, EXAMS will prioritize examinations of Firms that have never been examined or were recently registered.
- This indicates continuing emphasis on helping newer Firms build sound compliance frameworks from the start.
3. Investment Companies Focus
- Examinations will target RICs on their compliance programs, disclosures (e.g., summary prospectus), and governance practices.
- Particular attention on Fund fees and expenses, waivers, reimbursements, and how they are disclosed.
- Portfolio management practices to ensure consistency between the fund’s stated strategy, holdings, and marketing materials.
- Ensuring that a Fund’s name meaningfully reflects its actual investments, for the Names Rule (after the compliance date).
- Additional focus on newly registered Funds, Closed-End or less liquid Funds, and those with leverage vulnerabilities.
4. Fiduciary Duty Remains Central
- The SEC will continue to examine Advisers’ adherence to their duty of care and duty of loyalty, particularly in Advisory Practices serving retail investors.
- Focus on product risk: Alternative Investments (e.g., Private Credit, Private Funds), complex investments (e.g., ETFs wrapped over illiquid strategies, leveraged/inverse ETFs), and high-cost products.
- Scrutiny on recommendations: ensuring consistency between advice, client objectives, and the real characteristics of the product (liquidity, cost, volatility, exit).
- Special attention to:
- Dually Registered RIAs and Broker Dealers, and related conflicts;
- Use of third parties to access client accounts;
- Advisers that have merged or consolidated, which may bring operational risks or new conflicts.
5. Emerging Financial Technology
- Focus on automated investment tools, AI-driven Advisory Platforms, trading algorithms, and alternative data.
- Examiners will assess whether representations about these tools are fair and accurate, whether controls align with disclosures, and whether algorithms deliver advice consistent with investor profiles.
- For AI specifically, analyses will include fraud prevention and detection, AML, back-office operations, and how firms monitor and supervise AI systems.
- The SEC will also assess whether firms deploy regulatory technology to automate internal processes effectively.
6. Information Security & Operational Resiliency
- EXAMS will look at governance practices, data loss prevention, access controls, account management, incident response, and recovery.
- Elevated concern over AI-related security threats (e.g., polymorphic malware attacks), threat intelligence, training, and governance of AI in operations.
- Operational resiliency: how firms maintain mission-critical services under disruption.
7. Broker-Dealer Risk Areas
- Financial responsibility: Review of Net Capital Rule, customer protection, timely financial notifications, and resilience of internal controls, including oversight of Third-Party/Vendor services.
- Liquidity & stress testing: Examiners will assess Broker Dealers’ liquidity risk, market risk, credit risk, and their ability to manage stress events.
- Trading Practices: Focus on extended hours trading, Municipal Securities, order routing, best execution, and pricing/valuation of illiquid instruments.
- Regulation SHO / market-making exception: The SEC will examine whether Broker Dealers properly apply the bona-fide market making exception, especially with respect to quoting practices.
- Complex products: Variable & Registered Index-Linked Annuities, ETFs over illiquid strategies, structured products, private placements, etc.
8. Regulation S-ID / S-P Compliance
- The SEC will evaluate Firms’ implementation of Identity Theft Prevention Programs under Regulation S-ID, including red-flag detection and training, as applicable.
9. Regulation Systems Compliance and Integrity (SCI)
- Examination of how SCI entities manage incident response, Third-Party Vendor risk, and identify their systems that qualify as SCI systems or indirect SCI systems.
10. Anti-Money Laundering (AML)
- The SEC continues to scrutinize Broker Dealers and certain RICs under the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), focusing on tailoring AML programs to risk, independent testing, customer identification programs (including beneficial owners), and Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) obligations.
- Also, oversight of OFAC (sanctions) compliance: whether Firms monitor and enforce against sanctioned persons/entities.
Vigilant’s Conclusion
As the 2026 SEC Examination Priorities make clear, the regulatory landscape continues to evolve: new risks (e.g., AI-driven technologies, data protection), complex product constructs, and operational resilience concerns are front and center.
For Firms across the spectrum (RIAs, RICs, Broker Dealers), being proactive in aligning compliance programs with these priorities is not optional, it is essential.
Vigilant can support Firms in several ways:
- Risk Assessment & Gap Analysis
- Policy & Procedure Development
- Training & Monitoring
- Examination Readiness & Response
- On-Going Compliance Services
To schedule a call to learn more about how we can help, click the Contact Us Button below.