Articles Tagged with Compliance

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Earlier this year, the SEC Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”) sent a letter to registered investment advisers requesting information about their wrap fee programs and how their suitability for clients was determined. Most of the requested information centered around the possible misuse of wrap fee programs by advisers. OCIE examiners will want to see that adequate compliance procedures are in place, and that advisors conduct periodic reviews of their wrap fee programs to ensure that advisers are putting their clients’ interests first.

During an examination, advisers will need to disclose, among other things, the procedures and compliance policies governing their wrap fee programs, each wrap fee program used and its adviser, any brochures or marketing materials used to promote their wrap free programs, and what types of fees are covered in such programs. Advisers will also be asked to provide the SEC with its compliance policies for wrap fee programs. This may include how advisers monitor wrap accounts with high cash balances or accounts with low levels of trading, the oversight procedures of branch offices and representatives outside of those offices, best execution policies, and the initial and ongoing suitability reviews for wrap fee programs.
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In a case that underscores the importance of maintaining thorough and contemporaneous records of compliance reviews of trading records of firm personnel for both broker-dealers and registered investment advisers, on October 15th, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division instituted an administrative proceeding against a former compliance officer at Wells Fargo Advisors for allegedly altering documents requested by the SEC during an insider trading investigation.

The Wells Fargo Advisors’ compliance officer was responsible for identifying suspicious trades by Wells Fargo personnel and determining, after a thorough analysis, or what was called a “look back review,” whether such trading was based on material non-public information. On September 2nd, 2010, the compliance officer began review on a set of trades in Burger King securities made by a registered representative of Wells Fargo Advisors, prior to an announcement that the private equity firm, 3G Capital Partners Ltd. (“3G Capital”), was to acquire Burger King at take it private. The findings contained within the compliance officer’s review confirmed that the registered representative and his customers bought Burger King securities ten days prior to the announcement. However, the compliance officer failed to make any additional inquiries into the trades and closed the review with “no findings.” The registered representative was later criminally charged in September of 2012, and subsequently was convicted of trading in Burger King securities on the basis of material non-public information.
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In a consented-to Administrative Order dated July 2, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission fined a Missouri-based Registered Investment Adviser, SignalPoint Asset Management (“SignalPoint” or “SAM”), $215,000 for breaching its’ fiduciary duty to clients.

Prior to the formation of SignalPoint, the Principals of SignalPoint were registered as registered representatives and investment adviser representatives for a dually-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser. In 2008, the principals asked the dually-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser to allow them to have ownership and control of SignalPoint but were told that they could not have an ownership in an outside RIA.
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The Alabama Legislature passed a crowdfunding exemption bill this April, but the bill is still awaiting the Governor’s signature to become effective. Alabama is the eleventh state to enact legislation or develop regulations on this topic. Other states that have adopted crowdfunding exemption bills include, Washington, Idaho, Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas, Georgia, Tennessee, Indiana, Maryland, and Maine.

Similar to the approach taken by other states, Alabama’s new legislation is intended to unlock capital and increase access to it for local small businesses and entrepreneurs. While it is still uncertain how successful state measures such as these will be in achieving the goal of increased capital access, the ability of small business owners to raise capital should be enhanced through the relaxation of some of the previous constraints. It is important to note, however, that regulatory agencies will require strict adherence to the new standards in return for less-regulated access to capital. Businesses using the Alabama crowdfunding exemption, and other, similar state exemptions, bear the burden of ensuring its sale of unregistered securities does not run afoul of restrictions governing them.
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On January 30, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission hosted a compliance outreach program for investment companies and investment advisors. The national seminar, which was jointly sponsored by the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations and the Asset Management Unit of the Division of Enforcement, was held at the SEC headquarters in Washington, D.C.

The seminar outlined the priorities of SEC Divisions or Programs as well as general regulatory priorities of the SEC in the coming years. These priorities included the Wrap-Fee Programs, General Solicitation under the JOBS Act, Cybersecurity, and IABD Harmonization. One program of note that will be taking on more importance over the next two years is the Examination Initiative. The National Examination Program intends to review a substantial percentage of registrants that have not had an examination in the last three years. These examinations will take the shape of either a Risk Assessment Exam or a Presence Exam.
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On February 20, 2014, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it is launching an initiative, through its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (“OCIE”), to conduct examinations of investment advisers that have been registered with the SEC for 3 or more years but who have never been examined. That same day, OCIE sent letters to all RIAs that have never been examined in order to provide them with information about the new initiative, which is being conducted under the National Exam Program (“NEP”).

The notice letter describes the two distinct approaches of the initiative as “risk assessment” and “focused reviews.” The former approach is designed to allow OCIE to obtain a better understanding of a particular RIA, and may include an overall review of the adviser’s activities with focus on the firm’s compliance program and disclosure documents and underlying facts. The latter, or “focus review” approach, includes a comprehensive risk-based examination of those advisers identified as having a higher risk area of business or operations. The focus-review examinations will focus on one or more of the firm’s compliance program, filings and other disclosure documents, marketing, portfolio management, and/or safety of client assets.

OCIE disclosed that not all RIAs receiving the letter would, in fact, be examined. Firms that receive the letter, however, would be well advised to prepare for an examination in any event, which usually means nothing more than maintaining and sharpening, where necessary, their policies and procedures so that they are adequate to assure compliance with SEC regulations, and contain clear and well-defined processes and responsibilities.
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In a move that signals the need for heightened due diligence and supervision among financial advisory firms, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) released Regulatory Notice 12-03 in relation to complex products last month. It is intended to guide firms to increase their supervision of activity involving complex products such as structured notes, reverse convertibles, inverse or leveraged exchange traded funds, hedge funds and securitized products. FINRA has already brought a number of enforcement actions against firms relating to complex products, charging inadequate supervision, unsuitable recommendations and misleading price sales.

Among the problems noted by FINRA is the uncertainty of how these products will behave in the market, as opposed to theoretical projections. The notice states, “Regulators have expressed concern about complex products because the intricacy of these products can impair the ability of registered representatives or their customers to understand how the product will perform in a variety of time periods and market environments, and can lead to inappropriate recommendations and sales.”

FINRA chose not to define a complex product in the notice due to the ever changing innovation in the marketplace; however, the notice states that “any product with multiple features that affect its investment returns differently under various scenarios is potentially complex.” The notice goes on to give a non-exhaustive list of examples of complex products. FINRA advises firms that are unsure whether a product is complex to err on the side of applying their procedures for enhanced oversight to the product.
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The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a National Examination Risk Alert to investment advisers discussing the use of social media. Social media is becoming more widely used as a means to communicate with investors, and advisers need to ensure they are meeting their compliance requirements. The purpose of the alert is to inform advisers of ways they can improve and maintain sufficient compliance practices in using social media websites.

The SEC listed a number of issues for firms to consider as they evaluate the effectiveness of their compliance programs. Among all of the guidelines, some areas firms are encouraged to consider include:

  • Whether they want to create usage guidelines to address which social media networks are appropriate for use and restrictions which may be appropriate for each network;
  • Whether to create content standards to prohibit specific content or impose other restrictions in relation to their social media networks;
  • How their compliance or supervisory personnel can adequately monitor the sites, and how frequently they should be monitored;
  • Whether content must be pre-approved before posting to a site;
  • Whether there are adequate resources dedicated to monitor the activity adequately on the social media sites;
  • Developing criteria for allowing participation by third parties ;
  • Implementing training related to social media-related compliance practices;
  • Whether certification should be required to ensure that those individuals using the social media sites understand and are complying with the firm’s internal policies;
  • Whether to adopt policies distinguishing between personal and professional sites, possibly specifying the types of communication about the firm which are acceptable on a site not maintained by the firm; and
  • How to maintain information security.

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The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently jointly issued a Risk Alert and a Regulatory Notice on broker-dealer branch office inspections designed to help securities industry firms better supervise their branch offices, as well as to underscore the importance of that supervision.

“An effective risk based branch office inspection program is an important component of a broker-dealer’s supervisory system and, when constructed and implemented reasonably, it can better protect investors and the firm’s own interest,” stated Stephen Luparello, Vice Chairman of FINRA.

The risk alert specifically makes the following recommendations to firms, including:

  • Increasing the frequency of branch inspections, especially unannounced visits;
  • Customizing examinations to branch activity based on risk assessments;
  • Involving more senior personnel in exams;
  • Insuring that examiners have no conflicts of interest; and
  • Increasing supervision of certain offices based upon surveillance data and requiring corrective actions to address deficiencies noted.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced earlier this month that it obtained an asset freeze against a Boston-area money manager and his investment advisory firm who allegedly mislead advisers in a quantitative hedge fund and diverted a portion of investor money into his personal bank account.

In its allegations, the SEC claimed that Andrey C. Hicks and Locust Offshore Management, LLC made false representations to “create an aura of legitimacy when selecting individuals to invest in a purported million dollar hedge fund.” Hicks is alleged to have raised $1.7 million from several investors. According to the SEC’s complaint, Hicks misrepresented that he had obtained an undergraduate and graduate degree at Harvard University and that he previously worked for Barclays Capital. He also misrepresented that the hedge fund held more than $1.2 billion in assets, according to the complaint.

U.S. District Court Judge Richard Sterns of the District Court for Massachusetts issued the restraining order and asset freeze.
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