RIA Compliance Program Review | Oyster Consulting

Your Form ADV – Beyond Checking the Box

February 18, 2020

Why Filing Your Form ADV Is More Than a Check-the-Box Process Filing your Form ADV is not a simple check-the-box process. It requires a thorough and tailored disclosure of your firm’s business practices, services, fees, conflicts of interest, and compliance policies. Each section of the form demands customized responses that align with your firm’s unique […]

Do You Know Where Your Business Continuity Plan Is? Now is a Good Time to Look

February 11, 2020

Those of us in the risk management and compliance profession read the news a little differently than most optimists do. We tend to ask ourselves, “How could this news have a negative impact on our business and our clients, and how severe would that impact be?” Recently a few themes in the news have caught […]

Reg BI – What’s Required in Form CRS

January 29, 2020

As you work to complete your Form ADV, completing the Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI) Form CRS should also be on your list of things to do. In this week’s episode of Oyster Stew, Bob Tuch and Polly Cordle discuss what’s required and how Oyster Solutions is helping our clients make the task of completing […]

Oyster Solutions Software – Making Your Annual Compliance Calendar and Review More Efficient

January 15, 2020

In this episode of Oyster Stew, expert Polly Cordle is joined by Gray Houghton to talk through one of the most important first-quarter priorities for financial services firms: annual reviews and compliance calendars. Annual Reviews, Compliance Calendars, and Starting the Year Strong Whether you’re a broker-dealer or an RIA, annual reviews are a critical opportunity […]

SEC Publishes Form CRS FAQs

December 18, 2019

As the effective dates for Reg BI approach, we are starting to see more information and activity around certain aspects of the rule. This includes some welcome FAQ’s around Form CRS. On November 26, 2019 the staff of the Division of Investment Management and the Division of Trading and Markets released FAQs to help registrants prepare […]

“Mad Men” Era Advertising Rule Getting an Update: Amendments Proposed by the SEC

November 19, 2019

The SEC has issued a proposal to amend the Advertising Rules, which had their last major revision in 1961. To put that into perspective, most of the financial advisors in the industry were not born when these rules were established. There were no social media platforms, podcasts, blogs, email or websites. While it is still […]

Passage of the Senior Safe Act Will Provide Protection for Senior Investors

June 1, 2018

The Senior Safe Act (SSA) has been signed into law to provide protection for senior citizens from financial exploitation. The SSA is designed to enable investment professionals and others to work more effectively with law enforcement officials by protecting them from liability when suspected financial exploitation is reported under the circumstances described below. The SSA […]

SEC Fiduciary Standards Update

April 19, 2018

The SEC Proposes Rules and Interpretations to Address Relationships Between Retail Investors and Investment Professionals The Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission) has been considering issues relating to retail investor relationships with investment professionals for several years. A study was undertaken following passage of the Dodd-Frank Act, resulting in certain recommendations in a 2011 report. However, […]

Share Class Selection – Time is Short to Review Fees and Disclosures

February 16, 2018

On April 12, the SEC announced its Share Class Selection Disclosure Initiative (SCSD Initiative). Under the SCSD Initiative, “the Enforcement Division will recommend standardized, favorable settlement terms to investment advisers that self-report that they failed to disclose conflicts of interest associated with the receipt of 12b-1 fees by the adviser, its affiliates, or its supervised […]

Are Your Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Plans Ready for ____________________?

September 7, 2017

How you complete and answer that question could be the difference between your firm’s survival or not. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery plans are designed to ensure that your firm is able to provide critical services during a time of crisis and also survive and recover from disasters. An effective plan must be designed to […]

SEC Issues Guidance on Form ADV Amendments – Are You Ready for October 1?

August 31, 2017

October 1 is the date that RIAs must comply with the August, 2016 amendments to the Form ADV. This month the SEC issued guidance around how a filer making an unanticipated, other-than-annual amendment should respond to the new or amended items in Item 5 and related Schedule D sections. Some advisors have indicated to the […]

SEC Issues Guidance Update on RIA Custody Rule

March 9, 2017

Understanding Custody Rule SEC Guidance The SEC’s Division of Investment Management issued a February 2017 Guidance Update to Rule 206(4)-2 (the Custody Rule) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 regarding situations where an adviser might inadvertently have custody. The key takeaway is that the definition of “custody” is to review agreements with qualified custodians to […]

Posts by