RIA Compliance and Practice Management Blog

On March 3, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") released its annual top exam priorities for the 2021 calendar year. OCIE* is the SEC division which conducts examinations of registered investment adviser ("RIA") firms and this priority list can help investment advisers be better properly prepared for a regulatory examination. The examination priorities for 2021 include a focus on climate and environmental, social, and governance ("ESG")-related risks and conflicts of interest for investment advisers. In comparison to the SEC’s lists published in past years (2018, 2019, and 2020), there are similar priorities such as compliance programs and business continuity plans.

Each week we’re 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 New York's latest registration rules, state regulators' concerns regarding RIA subscription fees, and increased regulatory risks that come with e-communications.

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

Starting a new registered investment adviser ("RIA") firm is exciting and it’s important that you get the details right from the beginning. In this article, we are going to address the question of where to register your RIA firm - with the state(s) or the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

Where you register depends on a number of factors. The most common is your firm's regulatory assets under management ("AUM")—specifically, firms are generally sorted based on whether they fall above or below the $100 million AUM mark. 

Each week we’re 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 Department of Labor's ("DOL's") new fiduciary rule, the foreseeable return of in-person conferences, and marketing and business development opportunities on Instagram.

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

On December 18, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a final prohibited transaction exemption titled “Improving Investment Advice for Workers & Retirees.” The exemption clarifies that the DOL may consider IRA rollover advice provided by financial institutions, such as registered investment adviser (“RIA”) firms, to be under its regulatory purview in many circumstances. While many industry observers anticipated that this new exemption for investment advice fiduciaries would be tabled or delayed by President Biden’s administration, instead the DOL issued a release on February 12, 2021 noting that the exemption “will go into effect as scheduled on Feb. 16, 2021.” As such, RIA firms registered both at the state and federal level with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) may need to take immediate action to be in compliance with this new exemption.

Each week we’re 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's") advertising rule's impact on small RIA firms, marketing opportunities the rule provides, and the pressure of operational compliance brought on by the increased investigative empowerment for SEC staff.

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of January 29th, 2021:

On December 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) finalized changes to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to adopt a modernized registered investment adviser ("RIA") marketing rule. The new rule creates a single rule to replace the current Advertising (Rule 206(4)-1) and Cash Solicitation (Rule 206(4)-3) rules. New related amendments to the Books and Records Rule (Rule 204-2) and Form ADV were also finalized. The Form ADV will now require RIA firms to provide additional information related to their marketing practices to assist the facilitation of the SEC’s examination and enforcement capabilities.

Each week we’re 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's") focus on dually registered firms, the aftermath of the GameStop stock market frenzy, and whistleblowing.

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of January 29th, 2021:

Just as the industry continues to sprint forward with every piece of new technology, the regulatory landscape for registered investment advisers ("RIAs") continues to shift around us to accommodate these new tools and environments. The last 12 months have seen even faster technology adoption with many RIA firms going remote for the first time to make work possible during the pandemic.

Each week we’re 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's") new ad rule, top compliance issues in 2021, and deregulating private markets.

Here's our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of January 22nd, 2021: