On-Going Compliance

Our on-going compliance options provide you with a multitude of ways to stay up to date with the SEC and State regulations. Below you’ll find information about what you need to be doing for compliance. You can learn more about our on-going compliance fees here.

According to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, SEC Rule 206(4)-7, all investment advisers are required to develop and implement compliance programs that include written policies and procedures, usually in the format of a Compliance Manual, in order to prevent any sort of regulatory compliance violations.

Listed below are the minimum requirements investment advisers compliance procedures should include:

1. Portfolio management processes, including allocation of investment opportunities among clients and consistency of portfolios with clients’ investment objectives, disclosures by the adviser, and applicable regulatory restrictions;
2. Trading practices, including procedures by which the adviser satisfies its best execution obligation, uses client brokerage to obtain research and other services (“soft dollar arrangements”), and allocates aggregated trades among clients;
3. Proprietary trading of the adviser and personal trading activities of supervised persons;
4. The accuracy of disclosures made to investors, clients, and regulators, including account statements and advertisements;
5. Safeguarding of client assets from conversion or inappropriate use by advisory personnel;
6. The accurate creation of required records and their maintenance in a manner that secures them from unauthorized alteration or use and protects them from untimely destruction;
7. Marketing advisory services, including the use of solicitors;
8. Processes to value client holdings and assess fees based on those valuations;
9. Safeguards for the privacy protection of client records and information;
10. Business continuity plans

 

The SEC requires that policies and procedures be reviewed annually for adequacy. The review should consider any compliance matters that arose during the previous year, any changes in the business activities of the adviser or its affiliates, and any changes in the Investment Advisers Act or applicable regulations that might suggest a need to revise the policies or procedures. Although the rule requires only annual reviews, advisers should consider the need for interim reviews in response to significant compliance events, changes in business arrangements, and regulatory developments.