RIA Compliance Program Review | Oyster Consulting

Should RIAs Disclose PPP Forgiveness on ADV Part 2A?

September 9, 2021

In the spring of 2020, many Investment Advisors chose to participate in the Paycheck Protection Program, accepting loans designed to support employee retention. At the time, Oyster received a lot of questions from clients and others asking if a firm’s participation in this program should be disclosed and whether this disclosure should be treated as […]

Investment Advisors Want to Know Where State Regulators Have Been Focusing Their Attention

June 16, 2021

NASAA’s Investment Advisor Section Issues Report Highlighting Activities The North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) recently issued the 2021 Investment Adviser Section Annual Report. The report provided a profile of state-registered Investment Advisers (“RIAs”) as follows:” 81% of RIAS are 1-2 person shops 81% of clients are retail investors Top services include Individual Portfolio Management […]

IRAs, Rollovers and DOL Fiduciary Compliance: What You Need to Know

June 1, 2021

You can now listen to our complimentary webinar from June 8, 2021 co-sponsored with Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP This program focused on compliance with the DOL’s new “fiduciary rule,” a combination of an expanded interpretation of fiduciary status and an exemption for compensation, fees and commissions resulting from fiduciary recommendations. While other programs […]

The Art of Marketing in a Changing Regulatory Environment

May 11, 2021

Recording now available: The Art of Marketing In A Changing Regulatory Environment Expert Insights into SEC’s Updated Advertising Rule 206(4)-1 Our panel of industry experts and former regulators discussed: Where will the regulatory focus be What other firms are doing now Why are certain distribution methods being chosen over others How the definition of advertisement […]

Do You Have a Strategic Product Portfolio or a Product Warehouse?

May 4, 2021

After more than half a year since the implementation of Reg BI, it is the expectation that firms have instituted or enhanced their policies and procedures enabling the necessary point of sale application of the “Reasonably Available Alternatives” standards, required under the Care provision of Reg BI. Unfortunately, in their efforts to comply in a […]

A Strong ESG Investment Strategy Protects You and Your Clients

April 27, 2021

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”), Socially Responsible Investing (“SRI”), Sustainable Development Goals (“SDG”), are similar approaches to supporting initiatives designed to benefit society worldwide. From a public investing perspective, the goals are certainly not new, but today’s access to vast amounts of data and the technology to analyze it offers the greatest opportunities yet for […]

SEC Issues Risk Alert on ESG Investments

April 22, 2021

In January 2021 the SEC began taking an enhanced approach to Environmental Social and Governance (“ESG”) investing. Since then, the SEC has issued no less than five announcements addressing a range of issues including reviews of public company disclosure of ESG issues, adding ESG reviews to their 2021 Examination Priorities and the creation of a […]

SEC Addresses Climate Change Issues Affecting Financial Markets

March 23, 2021

Although still in the first quarter of 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has issued four press releases/public statements on climate change appointments and initiatives: On February 1, 2021 the SEC announced the appointment of Satyam Khanna as a Senior Policy Advisor for Climate and ESG (“Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance”). ESG refers […]

2021 Exam Priorities: The Importance of a Risk-Based Approach

March 17, 2021

Join Oyster CEO Buddy Doyle, Ed Wegener and Evan Rosser (former FINRA regulators) and Jeffrey Hiller (former SEC regulator) as they discuss the importance of viewing the FINRA’s 2021 Exam Priorities and your compliance program through a risk-based lens. Transcript Transcript provided by Temi transcript services Oyster: Welcome to the Oyster Stew podcast, where we discuss […]

Highlights from the SEC’s 2021 Exam Priorities

March 11, 2021

SEC’s Division of Examinations (formerly OCIE) has released their Examination Priorities Report for 2021. While the release is not much of a departure from recent years, some of the older topics have been re-framed to include newer risks and practices. Among “relatively new” topics, the Division will be focusing on Fintech and Innovation, including Digital […]

Know Your Risk, Control Your Risk

February 22, 2021

Join our webinar to understand FINRA’s risk based assessments to improve your firm’s regulatory exams.

5 Things to Know About NASAA’s Model Rules

December 21, 2020

NASAA published two model rules in November 2020 related to continuing education requirements and written policies and procedures. While each state determines whether to adopt model rules, you should familiarize yourself with the requirements, not just so you can comply, but because some of the requirements are just good business practices. Get ready for more […]

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Buddy Doyle