Registered Investment Advisors

Plain-English Translation Of SEC Official's Speech To RIA CCOs

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On October 15, Andrew J. "Buddy" Donohue, Chief of Staff at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, put chief compliance officers at Registered Investment Advisers on notice. "If I were a chief compliance officer," said Donohue, a regulator and financial industry executive for nearly 40 years, "I would consider my role in terms of the following categories." According to the SEC transcript of his speech, Donohue ticked off this list:      • Laws, Regulations and other Requirements      • Or

RIA Data Security Webinar By Compliance Whiz Chris Winn Receives A 4.7 Rating From Attendees

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RIA data-security practices, one of the touchiest topics of our time, was the subject of this week’s A4A webinar. Chris Winn, an authoritative source on the topic, says RIAs are being watched, and the picture isn’t all that pretty.  “Everybody has their eyes on us,” says Winn. “The regulators are focused here. But likely the folks spending the most time on this are the fraudsters.” Fraudsters, based on Chris Winn's description, are business terrorists. They spend 1,000 times more effort trying to defraud you than you are likely to spend on protecting yo

2014 RIA Compliance: 23 Questions From Advisors And Answers

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At an A4A webinar last Friday, I covered the major issues compliance RIAs need to know about to be prepared for a regulatory exam in 2014. The session covered a wide range of issues, including some sticky ones about how using an account aggregation application can trigger custody rules that are quite rigorous.  Here's below are the questions and my answers. If you have follow up questions, please don't hesitate to post them here. (A4A members ($60 annually) can see a replay of the webinar now.)   Q: You talked about account aggregation apps unintentionally deeming an advisor to have

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Questions About ByAllAccounts And When Account Aggregation Of 401(k) Assets Triggers Onerous Custody Rules Become Focus Of Webinar About 2014 SEC Examination Priorities For RIAs

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In addition, the SEC a day earlier, had published its list of Examination Priorities for 2014.   Winn’s comments about how account aggregation might unintentionally subject an RIA to onerous custody rules drew a flurry of questions and comments s from attendees. A third of the approximately 25 questions from attendees were about ByAllAccounts and the dreaded custody rules, a strong reaction to one topic.     Taking custody of assets triggers regulations that are costly for a small financial advisory firm to comply with. Depending on exactly how an RIA advises an accou

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Register For Free For SEC Seminars For RIA Compliance Chiefs In Chicago, New York, Atlanta And San Francisco

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The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the schedule for its upcoming Compliance Outreach Program regional seminars in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco for investment adviser and investment company senior officers, including chief compliance officers (CCOs). Here's the online registration form for the free in-person seminars. 

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