Best Practices for Keeping your RIA Compliant
Vigilant Insights
Introduction
There is a significant amount of regulatory requirements as a Registered Investment Adviser (“RIA”). Requirements which include a breadth of topics, some of which include Recordkeeping, Fiduciary Duty, Marketing/Advertising, and Proper Reporting.
At a time when the SEC is handing out billions of dollars in charges, proper compliance is an investment worth making.
Five Best Practices and Considerations for Compliance Success
- Ensure that your Firm meets all applicable regulatory requirements.
- Have dedicated and knowledgeable Compliance resources available.
- Although common in the industry, having a Dual-Hatted CCO without adequate resources may open your Firm to potential risk if there is not enough dedicated time allocated to maintaining and updated the existing compliance program in place.
- Maintain accurate and easily accessible records in compliance with the Investment Adviser’s Act.
- Do not forget to archive written business communication through email and text messaging.
- Establish detailed and Firm-specific policies and procedures for all material business operations, and ensure supervision and enforcement is accounted for.
- Consider hiring compliance consultants for support in certain or all areas, such as a hands-on review of all marketing material.
Vigilant’s Conclusion
Maintaining compliance is an on-going task that requires knowledge of the industry standards and expectations from regulators.
In an aggressive regulatory climate, it can be difficult to stay on top of the numerous new rules and amendments being announced by the SEC.
Vigilant offers end-to-end compliance solutions that are best-in-class with a customized approach to help your firm analyze its compliance policies and procedures for any deficiencies and help bridge any gaps.