Books and Records

The world of information technology has changed virtually everything it has touched since the advent of email, data management and the Internet. Compliance with the SECs Rule 204-2, the Books and Records Rule, is no different. Advisers today typically keep some, if not most, of their documents electronically – and must remember to adapt their […]

The end of 2021 may still seem some far off, but in terms of advisers and other market participants that will need to transition from the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), it may be getting uncomfortably close. The SEC staff in July issued a statement urging all market participants using LIBOR to begin the process of moving away.

Outsourcing a chief compliance officer may leave both an adviser and the third-party CCO it hired in trouble.

The Advisers Acts Books and Records Rule (Rule 204-2) is an old rule, and one that does not get as much attention as more prominent requirements, such as the Custody Rule.

Document that you did what you did. You'll avoid more deficiencies that way.

Despite your best efforts, some errors will always get through. How a firm handles them is critical.

How you report regulatory assets under management to the SEC is critical, particularly with the stricter requirements imposed by the agency as a result of Dodd-Frank. Make sure you know just what counts and what doesn’t — it may make the difference between whether you register with the SEC or with your state.Registration with the SEC, […]

The SEC staff makes it clear: If a reporting fund was in existence during a reporting period for which you are submitting a Form PF report – even if it was later liquidated in that same reporting period – you must include it in your report. That clarification was among a number of Form PF clarifications […]

Know what SEC examiners look for when they review your balance sheets and income statements. You will go a long way toward keeping your advisory firm out of trouble.  Firms managing private funds provide more targets for regulators than firms managing separate accounts do. Separate-account advisers typically collect only management fees, while private fund advisers […]

If youre going to promote your investment strategy as a proven winner, it helps if you actually have proof.The SEC recently took nationally syndicated radio personality Ray Lucia to task for allegedly over-promoting and under-documenting his “Buckets of Money” investment strategy that he touted at seminars designed to attract advisory clients. In a September 5 […]