Since our inception in 2016, SmartRIA’s mission has been to be the best software company in the world at simplifying compliance for wealth managers. It’s a tall order, but one that we believe is incredibly important, as wealth managers have significant regulatory burdens that need to be made achievable, while also ensuring the regulations’ purpose is maintained: the protection of our personal wealth. Towards this end, we have been working across 3 fronts: Solving more and more compliance problems inside
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Growing Your Firm in Any Season (While Maintaining Trust and Compliance)
In this article, Blain Wease, President of Provincial Development Group, and Mac Bartine, CEO of SmartRIA, explore the 5 dimensions of growth and how a culture of compliance can help to support and organize execution of those dimensions. We’ll be exploring these in depth in our upcoming webinar. Growing Your Firm in Any Season The skill sets required to grow any business share dimensions from both art and science, and wealth management firms are no exception. We typically find one
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Why You Should Invest in Compliance Software
Compliance. It’s tedious, complex, and confusing, especially with regulatory changes and at least yearly changes in exam focus. However, compliance is essential to the success of your firm. Investing in compliance software will save you time, money, and stress in the long run. Choosing the correct solution is important to get the most out of your investment. You want to make sure you get it right the first time, especially with so many novel solutions offered. SmartRIA offers a robust
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Cybersecurity & You: The Care and Keeping of your Cyber Compliance
Physical robberies of financial institutions are becoming less common, but cyber attacks are only getting more common. Today, everyone understands that protecting your clients and company is paramount to staying in any financial services game. However, most decision makers of financial institutions don’t know where to start. Fortunately, the SEC has given some guidelines on how to begin managing cybersecurity compliance risks according to their standards: Know what employees have access to and limit access where you can. Loss prevention
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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
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Compliance Budgets Up by 9%, But CCOs Say the Real Cost is Time
It’s been a disappointing year for those who thought the new administration would quickly roll back regulations and oversight in the financial industry, including state and SEC compliance for Registered Investment Advisors. This time last year, some RIAs were hoping to decrease their compliance budgets and apply those dollars to other efforts. Contrary to expectations, WealthManagement.com reports that compliance budgets are up by nine percent this year. While some regulatory changes, including the Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule, have been
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Manage More Clients in Less Time with this RIA Software Tool
Working as a RIA compliance consultant, you need to account for every step of the process, including new client on-boarding, compliance tasks, document storage, and employee management, to audit preparation. You’ll also encounter last-minute items that constantly get added to your checklist. If you’re not using an RIA software solution that makes your job easier, faster, and more efficient, then your business could be wasting precious time and money that could be spent in more profitable (or more fun!) ways. RIA
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3 Tools for RIA Compliance Consultants
When you’re an RIA compliance consultant, chances are you’ve got more than one job title. In a small business especially, you might also serve as the company CEO, CCO, accountant, social media administrator, human resources representative, or office manager. To perform any or all of these duties well, you need easy-t0-use tools for RIA compliance consultants that can help to optimize your workflows. You’ve got a lot to deal with, and juggling so many tasks can negatively impact your ability
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Attention RIAs: Updated Form ADV Now Includes Your Social Media Accounts
In October, the SEC announced several changes to Form ADV, the main reporting document for registered investment advisors (RIAs). One of these changes illustrates just how much social media has permeated the business landscape and how it can affect your company if not managed properly. What you post on social media can have real repercussions on your career. That’s right, the sage advice you’re given before leaving school to pursue your first job applies even when you’ve established a career
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How to Hire a CCO to Manage RIA Compliance
Registered investment advisors must have someone in place to manage RIA compliance with SEC and state regulations, a position commonly known as the chief compliance officer. It’s a vital role, and finding the right fit for CCO could be the deciding factor that makes or breaks a firm.
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