Although the SEC may have hemorrhaged senior staff this year, its rules and regulations remain in full force and effect. For RIAs, this means that the end of the year should be a time to prepare for and tackle the annual regulatory requirements imposed upon them
In the first part of our two-part series of blogs on what advisors should be reviewing at this time of the year, we spoke about which updates you should be making to your Form ADV and your 'annual review' mandated by the SEC. In this blog, we remind RIAs about their privacy policies, recommend checking yourself out on the IAPD, and suggest reviewing where your clients live.
Privacy Policy
SEC Regulation S-P requires RIAs to provide existing clients a copy of their privacy policy on an annual basis. This privacy policy should summarize how the RIA collects, protects, and uses non-public personal information collected from clients. A safe harbor exists for RIAs that choose to conform to one of four model privacy notice forms, available here (or start on page 87 of the official release here). Privacy notices can be delivered with other documents (like the ADV or a quarterly statement) so long as clients receive them on an annual basis. A summary of this requirement can be found right here on ThinkAdvisor here (shameless plug acknowledged).
Check Yourself Out
As part of your year-end compliance self-review, look yourself up on the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure ("IAPD") website (here) and, if you are a registered representative of a broker-dealer, FINRA's BrokerCheck website (here). Is there any incorrect information? Complaints or disclosures you were unaware of? Information on both sites is publicly-available, so make sure it is accurate and correct any inaccuracies. While you're at it, check out the information displayed about your firm on the IAPD website as well and update your ADV Part 1 as part of your annual updating amendment if necessary.
Check Out Your Clients
