When I was a freshman at DeSales University my younger, teenaged sister called me one night to tell me, in a very excited tone, “Guess what! There is this thing called the World Wide Web, it’s so cool! You can talk to people from all over the world!”. I know, I’m dating myself but what the heck. Fast-forward some 20 odd years later (I keep dating myself) and that excited younger sister has had a multitude of social media websites to choose from to communicate with people from all over the world and in more attractive interface: Facebook. Pinterest. Instagram. LinkedIn. Twitter. YouTube. Etc., etc.

How has the internet affected your personal life? What about your professional life? Do you remember the first time you created a Twitter account and tweeted all sorts of things about your firm and how amazing it was and all the wonderful services your firm provided? How about the first time your compliance officer approached you about your twitter account? Do you think compliance regulations have gone too far in policing professional social media? Let’s get a conversation going in the comments section.

Inevitably, I am confident we can all agree that the role social media has played in our personal and professional lives has been astounding. Over the years compliance staff have had to endure this significant change in the workplace and have worked to determine how best or even if they should monitor social media interactions of their firm’s employees. Regulators have seen this impact and now provide insight into how firms should curb and supervise social media use.

FINRA has been releasing notices relating to social media for a few years and most recently this past April. The notices are in Q&A format and give us a better understanding of FINRA rules and expectations regarding the rapidly changing digital communication landscape. I have included links to each of the three FINRA notices for your reading pleasure:

Regulatory Notice 17-18. April 2017
Regulatory Notice 11-39. August 2011
Regulatory Notice 10-06. January 2010

The FINRA notice released in April contained twelve Q&As which I have summarized and compiled in a friendly block format below. I also added my own two cents because what is a consulting article without your favorite consultant’s feedback? Cheeky, I know. I hope you find the way I have summarized and organized the data suitable for your business needs. Feel free to leave your comments and questions.

Thank you for reading! If you would like a Word copy emailed to you for easier reference please feel free to reach out to me directly at lcolpas@compliance-risk.com.

ABOUT LILIAN COLPAS
Lilian Colpas is an accomplished compliance professional with over 12 years of global compliance experience. Lilian provides consulting services to SEC and state-registered investment advisers and conducts AML independent reviews for broker/dealers. Previously, Lilian held roles as a compliance officer for Davidson Kempner, Harding Loevner and AIG Global Investments (now PineBridge).

¹ “Ongoing” means: (a) the link is continuously available to investors who visit the firm’s site; (b) investors have access to the linked site whether or not it contains favorable material about the firm; and (c) the linked site could be updated or changed by the independent third-party and investors would nonetheless be able to use the link.
² Native Advertising is defined a content that bears a similarity to the news, feature articles, product reviews, entertainment and other material that surrounds it online.
³ See: FTC’s Enforcement Policy Statement on Deceptively Formatted Advertisements, December 22, 2015
⁴ Rule 2210(d)(6), states that: (A) If any testimonial in a communication concerns a technical aspect of investing, the person making the testimonial must have the knowledge and experience to form a valid opinion. (B) Retail communications or correspondence providing any testimonial concerning the investment advice or investment performance of a member or its products must prominently disclose the following: (i) The fact that the testimonial may not be representative of the experience of other customers. (ii) The fact that the testimonial is no guarantee of future performance or success. (iii) If more than $100 in value is paid for the testimonial, the fact that it is a paid testimonial.

The post Turning Up The Heat on Social Media Regulation appeared first on Compliance Risk Concepts.

As the second quarter of 2017 draws to a close we’ve put graduations behind us and for some of us, we eagerly await the start of summer camp, others plan day trips to the beach (raise your hand if you are going to the Jersey shore), invite friends for the inevitable BBQs that, for some, may result in burnt veggies and burgers… don’t tell my husband I said that.

Amidst the start of our summer fun let’s not forget our federal filing obligations due in the third quarter (sorry to quash your summer dreams). The sooner you start gathering the data required for these filings the easier it will be for you when the filings are due.

Download Summer Fun and Q3 Federal Filing Requirements Guide

For guidelines on the 2017 Q3 federal filing requirements download Lilian Colpas' Summer Fun and Q3 Federal Filings for Investment Advisers:

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ABOUT LILIAN COLPAS
Lilian Colpas is an accomplished compliance professional with over 12 years of global compliance experience. Lilian provides consulting services to SEC and state-registered investment advisers and conducts AML independent reviews for broker/dealers. Previously, Lilian held roles as a compliance officer for Davidson Kempner, Harding Loevner and AIG Global Investments (now PineBridge).

The post Summer Fun and Q3 Federal Filings For Investment Advisers appeared first on Compliance Risk Concepts.

Thank you to all who attended the June 20th webinar, Establishing A Regulatory-Proof Broker/Dealer Compliance Program in which Mitch Avnet, Founder and Managing Partner at Compliance Risk Concepts (“CRC”) and Kristi Kuhn, Senior Solutions Consultant at ProcessUnity discussed the necessary components of establishing and maintaining the necessary infrastructure to support and scale a best-in-class broker-dealer system of supervision.

Attendees learned about PaCE – Policy and Controls Environment, a brand new offering from Compliance Risk Concepts (“CRC”) that has been specifically created by a team of former industry leading CCOs to address the needs of firms that have been historically underserved and priced out of much needed technology solutions. Participants in this webinar learned about the following PaCE features:

• Policies and Procedures Management
• Forms and Certifications Management
• Incident Management and Escalation Workflows
• Integrated Compliance Calendar
• Professional Services and Ongoing Support

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Presenters:

Mitch Avnet, Founder and Managing Partner, Compliance Risk Concepts
Mitch Avnet is the founder and Managing Partner of CRC LLC. Mitch is responsible for business development, relationship management and overseeing the execution of all client driven / business focused Compliance and Ethics Risk Management strategic engagements.

Kristi Kuhn, Senior Solutions Consultant, ProcessUnity
Kristi Kuhn is a Senior Solutions Consultant at ProcessUnity. Kristi has more than 12 years experience delivering governance, risk and compliance solutions to organizations of all sizes.

Moderated by:

Lilian Colpas, Senior Compliance Officer, Compliance Risk Concepts
Lilian Colpas is an accomplished compliance professional with over 12 years of global compliance experience. Lilian provides consulting services to SEC and state-registered investment advisers and conducts AML independent reviews for broker/dealers. Previously, Lilian held roles as a compliance officer for Davidson Kempner, Harding Loevner and AIG Global Investments (now PineBridge).

The post Webinar: Establishing A Regulatory-Proof Broker/Dealer Compliance Program appeared first on Compliance Risk Concepts.

COMPLIANCE BULLETIN: OUT WITH THE OLD...IN WITH THE NEW
Spotlight On Talent: Lilian Colpas, Senior Compliance Consultant

Why is January 1 different from all other days of the year? After all, nothing fundamentally really changes. Nevertheless, most of us see January 1 as a new beginning in which we resolve to renew ourselves and discard undesirable traits. As you return to work from the long holiday weekend what will you resolve for 2017?

As an adviser, the annual compliance review requirement imposed by Rule 206(4)7, or the “compliance rule”, should be a fundamental part of your New Year’s resolution. The goal of 206(4)7 is to ensure your policies and procedures are adequate for your business model, therefore, you should assess each policy ever year to identify what is working and what is not working.

In this bulletin, Lilian Colpas discusses the importance of the annual compliance review and the SEC’s recommended topics that advisers should be addressing as part of their compliance program.

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ABOUT LILIAN COLPAS
Lilian Colpas is an accomplished compliance professional with over 12 years of global compliance experience, most recently as compliance officer for Harding Loevner in Bridgewater, NJ. Previously, Lilian held roles as a compliance officer for Davidson Kempner Capital Management and AIG Global Investments (now PineBridge Investments). Lilian also worked as a paralegal for Sidley Austin Brown and Wood and AIG.

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COMPLIANCE BULLETIN: SEC WHISTLEBLOWER REGULATIONS
Spotlight On Talent: Lilian Colpas, Senior Compliance Consultant

The most recent SEC announcement by OCIE correlates to the point that whistleblowers have an incentive to earn millions of dollars from your ineffective compliance program. The SEC has monetary incentives to draw out these employees and expose the trials and tribulations of your firm. If your firm is not in compliance with the SEC’s whistleblower regulations, Rule 21F-17, you could face enforcement action.

Lilian Colpas, examines the current rhetoric surrounding SEC’s whistleblower regulations and the SEC’s expectation of registered advisers and their compliance with the whistleblower rule.

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ABOUT LILIAN COLPAS
Lilian Colpas is an accomplished compliance professional with over 12 years of global compliance experience, most recently as compliance officer for Harding Loevner in Bridgewater, NJ. Previously, Lilian held roles as a compliance officer for Davidson Kempner Capital Management and AIG Global Investments (now PineBridge Investments). Lilian also worked as a paralegal for Sidley Austin Brown and Wood and AIG.

The post You’ve Established The Tone At The Top – Do You Know The Mood In The Middle? appeared first on Compliance Risk Concepts.

Whether you are a small-town doctor or a powerful hedge fund manager - the SEC doesn’t discriminate! If you are abusing your fiduciary duty and use material, non-public information to trade securities - you will be caught and you will be charged with insider trading.

Combat insider trading within your firm by learning the right questions to ask and developing the right internal controls and processes to mitigate this risk.

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