RIA Compliance and Practice Management Blog

Recordkeeping requirements for registered investment adviser (“RIA”) firms are set at a high bar. After all, your firm is dealing with vital personal documents for people and businesses. This is an important vault, and you need quick, easy access to the paper trail for several reasons.

SEC Rule 204-2 requires true, accurate and current records of the major categories we’ll explore here. That used to mean a storage unit full of boxes of files and now it might be a thumb drive or a digital vault in the cloud, but the content and intent are the same: accurate records, preserved in their original state, organized for easy retrieval.

Below we will highlight the major categories of records required for RIAs and the characteristics of each.

Each week we are giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser ("RIA") compliance and regulatory issues. This week's recap focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) plans to review various rules, tips on preparing for remote exams, and possible anti-money laundering policy plans for RIAs. 

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of April 2nd, 2021:

On February 26, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) Division of Examinations’ released a new risk alert, titled “Continued Focus on Digital Asset Securities”.

In this release, the Division of Examinations’ addresses its continued focus on the activities related to the offer, sale, and trading of securities known as “Digital Asset Securities”. The Division makes it clear to investment advisors that digital assets along with use of distributed ledger technologies will be a focus area for future examinations and discloses the related risks identified during recent examinations. RIA firms can use the components from the release that are listed below to assess and strengthen their compliance programs.

One of the most complicated parts of starting a registered investment adviser (RIA) firm is constructing your firm’s Form ADV filings, specifically the Form ADV Part 1A, Part 1B, Part 2A, Part 2B and Part 3 (a.k.a., Form CRS).

These forms will detail your new firm's business practices and background of individuals associated with the firm. These documents must conform to the specific regulatory standards of the relevant state(s) or the SEC.

One of the most important tasks of any compliance department is ensuring your firm’s Form ADV is accurate and updated.

Each week we are giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser ("RIA") compliance and regulatory issues. This week's recap focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) ad rule guidance, cybersecurity risks for RIA firms, and regulatory and legislative rules for advisors due to the administration change. 

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of March 19th, 2021:

Registered investment adviser ("RIA") firms utilizing our MyRIACompliance® RIA compliance software platform can take advantage of our integration with Wealthbox CRM, which is a leading web-and-mobile customer relationship manager ("CRM”) software provider to investment advisers. The integration enables joint users of MyRIACompliance® and Wealthbox to view and complete customized regulatory compliance events all within the Wealthbox calendar system. MyRIACompliance® helps to programmatically deliver firm-specific compliance tasks utilizing the firm’s Form ADV and other proprietary data directly into the Wealthbox CRM system. 

Each week we are giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser ("RIA") compliance and regulatory issues. This week's recap focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) environmental, social, and governance “ESG” disclosure policy, cybersecurity risks for retirement participants, and how the pandemic influences how advisors use technology.

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of March 12th, 2021:

Congratulations! Your registered investment adviser ("RIA") firm has successfully made the transition from state to federal registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). Firm growth is always exciting, but what does this change mean for your firm's compliance program? 

In this post, we discuss the key differences between state and SEC regulations as well as filing requirements that may now apply to your firm. While this is not an exhaustive look at the differences between SEC and state regulatory compliance requirements, it highlights the most common topics and questions that advisers ask us while we assist with their state to SEC registration transition process.

Each week we are giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser ("RIA") compliance and regulatory issues. This week's recap focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) ad rule effective date, Form CRS submissions, and a Paycheck Protection Plan (“PPP”) extension act.

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of March 5th, 2021:

Each week we are giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser ("RIA") compliance and regulatory issues. This week's recap focuses on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) 2021 examination priorities, the SEC’s ad rule, and the SEC’s new ESG task force.

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of February 26th, 2021: