Karen Houghton

Client success means client satisfaction when the job is done well.

Karen brings over 30 years of Compliance experience to her role as Senior Consultant at Oyster Consulting. She began her career in the branch examination department of a regional broker-dealer, and her role grew to include creation and management of multiple departments, including Complaints, Regulatory and Legal inquiries. Karen was integral in developing regulatory exam programs and has managed and coordinated exams conducted by numerous regulatory bodies. Karen has served as Chief Administrative Officer for a Compliance Department of 300 employees and has acted as project manager for multiple engagements at Oyster. She provides Compliance support and expertise to registered investment advisors, using her significant supervisory, general compliance and project management skills.

Expertise

• Acted as outsourced CCO for a registered investment advisor. Responsible for the implementation, enforcement and maintenance of the firm’s Compliance Program
• Assisted firms with SEC and FINRA remediations, conducting account and email reviews and developing procedures to address and prevent ongoing issues
• Conducted advertising and email review for multiple broker-dealers and investment advisors
• Completed firm and individual registration filings for BDs and RIAs on FINRA Gateway (Web CRD) and IARD
• Responsible for filing Form ADV – Part 1 and preparation and filing of Parts 2A, 2B and Form CRS for multiple firms
• Filing of Forms 13F, 13H and initial and annual Form D filings with the SEC, including state notice filings
• Provides support for investment advisory firms using Oyster Solutions, software designed to automate, organize and integrate firm compliance and operations program
• Project manager for merger integration of two regional brokerage firms
• Project manager for filing New Member and Continuing Member applications with FINRA
• Assisted with the review, evaluation and preparation of Written Supervisory Procedures, Compliance manuals and policies and procedures for both broker-dealers and investment advisors
• Ensured that the policies and procedures for investment advisory firms were in compliance with current regulations
• Conducted annual reviews for registered investment advisory firms
• Conducted a review of processes and procedures for a mid-sized brokerage firm to ensure they were in compliance with regulatory requirements
• Development and establishment of complaint tracking and reporting system

Career Highlights

• Chief Administrative Officer, Compliance, Wachovia Securities
• Senior Regulatory Affairs Analyst, Wachovia Securities
• Manager, Complaint Administration, Legal Inquiries and Regulatory Reporting, Wachovia Securities
• Department Training Coordinator, Wheat First Securities
• Branch Examiner, Wheat First Securities