Guest post by Ara Jabrayan On December 22, 2020, the SEC enacted the new Marketing Rule, which will have an enormous impact on Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs). The new rule will replace the prior Advertising Rule, as well as the Cash Solicitation Rule. The SEC also amended Form ADV and the Books and Records Rule to implement changes resulting from the Marketing Rule. The SEC enacted the new Marketing Rule to protect investors from misleading advertisements and solicitations, while accommodating
Read MoreSmartRIA Announces a Deeper Partnership With SS&C Technologies’ Black Diamond Wealth Platform
Newly expanded relationship makes SmartRIA a preferred third-party compliance solution for Black Diamond clients Yesterday, SmartRIA announced an expanded relationship with SS&C Technologies’ Black Diamond® Wealth Platform. This alliance strengthens the deep integration between the two solutions with a committed focus and investment from both parties to advance the integration. “Our ability to maintain compliance workflows has been greatly enhanced with the partnership between Black Diamond and SmartRIA, and we are excited to experience the collaborative improvements from these critical
Read More
SmartRIA Acquires Greytwist Data Governance Solution
The data governance platform will be integrated into SmartRIA’s compliance management solution platform to better support customers’ needs. Knoxville, TN, Sept. 9, 2019: SmartRIA and Greytwist have announced today the acquisition by SmartRIA of Greytwist Data Governance, a solution for vendor due diligence and management, personally identifiable information (PII) data governance and cybersecurity policy and procedures management and oversight. The asset sale includes the Greytwist Data Governance software platform, which will be integrated into the SmartRIA Compliance Management Platform.
Read More
SEC Issues Risk Alert Dealing with Regulation S-P Privacy Notices & Safeguard Policies
On April 16, 2019, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published a Risk Alert dealing with Regulation S-P, which is the Commission’s primary rule governing privacy notices and the safeguarding policies of Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs), as well as broker-dealers. The Risk Alert guidance is derived from recent examinations of RIAs and broker-dealers and is designed to help them develop compliant privacy and opt-out notices to clients who are individuals (“customers”). The Risk Alert will also
Read More
SS&C’s Black Diamond Wealth Platform and SmartRIA Announce Integration Partnership to Streamline Compliance Surveillance
SmartRIA today announced an integration with SS&Cs’ Black Diamond Wealth Platform to significantly streamline the surveillance of compliance activities for well-established RIA firms. The direct connection between the two systems allows RIA firms to use Black Diamond data within SmartRIA. The shared data creates a 360-degree view of client households, which facilitates surveillance of mission critical compliance issues. These can include: client annual reviews, trading inactivity and high account cash balance alerts, viewing and reporting on accounts by discretionary/non-discretionary status
Read More
Fiduciary Duty Goes Well Beyond Share Class Selection
Investment advisers may have noticed the SEC’s recent Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative and thought they had nothing to learn from the 79 enforcement actions. The reality is that even investment advisers who are not affiliated with a broker-dealer can learn valuable lessons from these enforcement actions. Lessons learned from Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative On March 11, 2019, the SEC announced that its Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative had returned more than $125 million to investors. The initiative was
Read More
SEC Announces Its 2019 Examination Priorities
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) publishes annually its examination priorities to promote transparency and provide insights into the areas it believes pose a heightened risk to investors or to the integrity of the U.S. capital markets. OCIE’s priorities are designed to support the SEC’s mission, which is to protect investors and facilitate capital formation, as well as to maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets. On December 20, 2018, OCIE announced its 2019 examination priorities. Both the
Read More
OCIE Reveals Cash Solicitation Rule Compliance Issues
The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) periodically publishes Risk Alerts to highlight compliance problems discovered during examinations. On October 31, 2018, OCIE circulated a Risk Alert that analyzes compliance issues pertaining to Rule 206(4)-3 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, otherwise known as the Cash Solicitation Rule. Generally, investment advisers required to be registered under the Act are prohibited from paying a cash fee, directly or indirectly, to any person who solicits clients for a Registered
Read More
Same SEC Document Production List
We are seeing quite an uptick in Advisors undergoing regulatory exams. Therefore, as a service to you we are providing the following information in regard to regulatory exams. The SEC’s Office of Compliance, Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) is responsible for administering exams. Generally, the initial notification of an exam will reference that the staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is conducting an examination of risk factors pursuant to Section 204 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the
Read More
Supervision of Investment Adviser Representatives
Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) owe a duty to supervise persons associated with the firm with respect to activities performed on their behalf. In recent deficiencies letters, RIAs have been criticized for failing to adequately supervise their supervised persons, including, Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs). RIAs must implement written supervisory procedures to govern the conduct of supervised persons. A supervised person is any partner, officer, director, or employee of an RIA who provides investment advice on behalf of the firm. We have attached
Read More