News Archives - Page 2 of 2

RIAs Must Make Good on Fee Refunds and Fully Disclose Their Financial Condition

July 27, 2018 by Ara Jabrayan Leave a Comment

On July 20, 2018, the SEC announced the settlement of charges against a Beverly Hills-based Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) and its majority owner, because the firm improperly refused to refund unearned advisory fees to 63 clients who left the firm. The RIA also made material misstatements in written disclosures to clients regarding the firm’s financial condition. According to the SEC’s order instituting administrative and cease-and-desist proceedings, the RIA and its owner withheld $131,000 in prepaid unearned advisory fees. The 63

Testimonial Rule and Social Media Intersect in Recent Enforcement Actions

July 17, 2018 by Ara Jabrayan Leave a Comment

On July 10, 2018, the SEC settled enforcement actions brought against two SEC-Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs), three Investment Adviser Representatives (IARs), and a marketing consultant, for their involvement in violating the Testimonial Rule using social media and the Internet. Rule 206(4)-1(a)(1) under the Investment Advisers Act sets forth what types of advertisements are prohibited. The rule prohibits express or implied testimonials. Although the word “testimonial” is not defined in Rule 206(4)-1, it has been interpreted as being a statement of

SEC Publishes Most Frequent Best Execution Deficiencies Found by Examiners

July 16, 2018 by Ara Jabrayan Leave a Comment

On July 11, 2018, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) released a risk alert dealing with the most frequent best execution deficiencies identified during investment adviser exams. The risk alert can help Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) improve their best execution policies and procedures and avoid potential problems during their own examinations. The duty to seek best execution is an important component of an RIA’s fiduciary obligation. Investment advisers must attempt to obtain the best qualitative execution for the

Frequent Advisory Fee and Expense Compliance Issues

April 16, 2018 by Ara Jabrayan Leave a Comment

On April 12, 2018, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) issued a National Exam Program risk alert in which it outlined the most frequent advisory fee and expense compliance issues identified in deficiency letters sent to SEC-registered investment advisers. To read the full risk alert, click here. The six most frequent areas of concern noted were: Fee-Billing Based on Incorrect Account Valuations – for example, using a different metric or process than was specified in the client agreement or

RIAs Breach Their Fiduciary Duty with Improper Share Class Selection

April 9, 2018 by Ara Jabrayan Leave a Comment

On April 6, 2018, the SEC ordered three Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) to pay $12 million to clients harmed by the firms’ breach of their fiduciary obligations. The RIAs had generated millions of dollars in improper fees by selecting higher-cost mutual fund shares for clients, even though less expensive ones were available. In total, the three RIAs were ordered to pay nearly $15 million. The SEC’s orders stated that the RIAs failed to disclose conflicts of interest and violated their

Release Notes for November 2017

December 1, 2017 by Mac Bartine Leave a Comment

SmartRIA is always working to improve our products and services to make sure our users have the best experience with our software. Here’s what we did to update our software in November. If you have features you’d like us to add, let us know. We’d love to hear from you. We’re very excited about our new Advanced Compliance module, which will be fully available in Q1 of 2018 – more about its associated purpose and functionality soon! New Features: Added: Enhancements to password

SmartRIA Featured on FA Magazine Blog

October 26, 2016 by Mac Bartine

SmartRIA’s founder Roger Kiger was featured today in an interview on Financial Advisor Magazine’s blog. The interview explores how Mr. Kiger went from principal of a wealth management firm to a technology entrepreneur by creating RIA compliance software to manage his firm’s needs.

Welcome to SmartRIA

June 16, 2016 by Mac Bartine

Friends and colleagues: Thank you for taking a moment to visit us at SmartRIA, Automated Compliance Software. We are the first, and currently, the only, truly automated compliance software available on the market. For the compliance portion of our software alone, SmartRIA is a huge time, stress, and money saver for our users. We know, because we use it ourselves in our own firm!