Your Compliance Arsenal: Essential Resources for Compliance in 2019

Most firms are actively engaged in reviewing their compliance programs during the first quarter of every year.  Reflecting and evaluating your supervisory structure and internal controls, particularly in light of regulatory examination priority areas is essential. SEC Risk Alerts amplify this and provide a strong call to action for firms to address and strengthen their policies and procedures to address enterprise risks.

 

As today’s compliance programs continue to become more intricate and revolve around the evolution of technology, it is imperative to evaluate your critical resources to stay ahead of the curve. In an effort to mitigate regulatory risks and improve efficiencies, firms increasingly rely on third-party service providers to assist in ensuring their compliance programs evolve with current regulatory requirements. Each year we receive requests for resources that firms should consider, which is the topic of this month’s Risk Management Update. Core Compliance℠ clients have shared with us their positive experiences of working with the following vendors. We recognize that the needs, budgets, and experiences of one investment adviser to another can materially differ; therefore, it is essential that financial industry firms conduct the proper vendor due diligence in a thorough and ongoing manner prior to engagement.

 

Compliance Certifications and Continuing Education

National Society of Compliance Professionals: A Certified Compliance Professional (CSCP) Certification – Certification that distinguishes individuals as intermediate to advanced proficiency as compliance professionals. The National Society of Compliance Professionals offers this certification through Utica College.

(860) 672-0843

https://nscp.org/about-cscp/

FINRA Institute at Wharton: Certified Regulatory and Compliance Professional (CRCP) Program – Developed by FINRA, the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the CRCP program was designed specifically for the securities industry regulatory and compliance professionals.
(800) 321-6273
https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/CRCP_Program_Brochure.pdf

Quest CE – offers compliance education and training options to the financial services industry and continuing education (“CE”) for professionals holding insurance licenses and professional designations like the CFP, CPA, CIMA and CLU/ChFC.

(414) 375-3400
www.questce.com 

RegEd, Inc. – provides annual compliance meetings, needs analysis, training plans, tracking and reporting, firm element CE, insurance CE, exam preparation licensing training with exam preparation self-study, and online practice exams.
(800) 334-8322
www.reged.com

Securities Training Corporation – offers securities CE, securities licensing, insurance CE, and insurance pre-licensing and exam preparation licensing training in a classroom or self-study format.
(800) 782-1223
www.stcusa.com

 

Compliance Technologies for Surveillance Efforts

Schwab Compliance Solutions/Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. – offers employee trade surveillance technology that proactively blocks restricted trades that are not compliant with your firm’s employee trade monitoring policy.
(877) 589-4276
http://corporateservices.schwab.com/public/corporate/compliance_solutions

Orion Compliance (previously BasisCode Compliance™)– delivers a simple, centralized compliance platform, enabling compliance personnel to focus on high-risk areas while meeting critical regulatory and documentation requirements.  The dashboard-driven system consists of a flexible menu including compliance calendar customization, testing, certifications and attestations, gifts and entertainment monitoring, risk assessments, form builder tool, personal trading, whistleblower, and document library management.
www.orionadvisortech.com

MyComplianceOffice Compliance Program Manager and Other Solutions – provides a software system for compliance requirements and employee trading activity management, as well as task management and workflow, compliance calendar building, attestation management, disclosure management, gifts and entertainment monitoring, case and document management, risk management and more.

(866) 951-2279
www.mycomplianceoffice.com

 

TD Ameritrade, Inc. – provides a fully automated employee trading surveillance system that combines customized tools to help financial and professional services firms better monitor their employees’ personal trading accounts.
(800) 454-2972
https://www.tdameritrade.com

Investment Advisor/Broker-Dealer Custodian Platforms

Schwab Advisor Services – aside from their other services, Schwab also provides a variety advisor services, such as guidance, a technological platform for account management and trading, financial solution and resources for your clients, as well as hands-on support.
(877) 687-4085
https://advisorservices.schwab.com/

TD Ameritrade Institutional – provides RIAs with numerous platforms to align their client’s goals, such as Veo One®, Veo Open Access®, iRebal®, thinkpipes®, and AdvisorClient®. They also offer a multitude of other services and products that assist with estate planning, ETF markets, and managing accounts.
(800) 934-6124
https://www.tdainstitutional.com/

Fidelity Institutional Wealth Services – provides trading, custody and brokerage services to Registered Investment Advisors, Trust Institutions and Third-Party Administrators. Their services include access to a comprehensive set of products and innovative investment tools and research, an integrated brokerage and trust platform.
(800) 972-2155
http://www.fidelity.com/inside-fidelity/fidelity-facts/fidelity-institutional-wealth-services/

Millennium Trust Company – services firms and individuals in managing their investments. Their client offerings tout technology, product innovation, and best-practices approach toward safety, operational soundness and compliance with current regulations.
(800) 258-7878
https://www.mtrustcompany.com/

BNY Mellon – assists advisors, alternative asset managers, banks and broker-dealers, consultant and corporations with numerous investment services, as well as wealth and investment management.
(800) 205-7699
https://www.bnymellon.com

BNY Mellon | Pershing Advisor Solutions – provides a business-to-business organization focus, private banking solutions, securities lending, a seamless account opening and onboarding platform, and more.
(800) 445-4467
https://www.pershing.com/

Errors & Omissions (E&O) Insurance

Starkweather & Shepley Insurance, Inc.’s Investment Industry Practice Group – provides a variety of financial insurance, risk management, and related services worldwide. Their services focus on Investment Advisers, Private Equity and Hedge Funds, Securities Broker-Dealers, and Mutual Fund Groups.
(800) 854-4625
https://www.starshep.com/

Marsh & McLennan – offers insurance coverage for a variety of exposures, including crisis management, mergers and acquisitions, business continuity and operational risk globally.
(212) 345-5000
https://www.marsh.com/

Willis Towers Watson – a global leading risk advisor, insurance and reinsurance broker.
(212) 915-8888
http://www.willis.com/

Cybersecurity Solutions

RightSize Solutions – provides a variety of financial cybersecurity solutions; which ranges from back-up and recovery, IT management and Private Cloud. Their services assist firms manage and maintain the business models within the continuous evolving technology environment.
(913) 396-4600
http://www.rightsize-solutions.com/

Xantrion – through their tailored solutions, Xantrion provides support, process and technology solutions that are aligned towards cybersecurity and IT solutions. Their services range from IT roadmaps, Business Continuity, Manage Security and Secure Cloud systems.
(510) 272-4701
https://www.xantrion.com

LastPass – offers a simplified solution to login and password management for multiple accounts. Their platform provides users the ability to store, protect and encrypt sensitive information, such as login information.
https://www.lastpass.com

Elteni – provides a comprehensive solution for technology and security. They specialize in technical proficiency, as well as infrastructure and security engineering. Their services range from cybersecurity, risk evaluations, penetration testing, and vulnerability assessments.
(866) 435-8364
https://www.elteni.com/

 

Electronic Books & Records Solutions

CA Technologies, Inc. – offers a comprehensive portfolio of identity-centric data loss prevention for IT security professionals. As part of CA’s technology solutions, CA’s Data Protection offering enables businesses to protect all types of sensitive information and assets to help minimize accidental, negligent and malicious misuse of data, as well as help you remain compliant with regulations, corporate policies and reduce overall business risk.
(800) 225-5224
https://www.ca.com/us/products/ca-data-protection.html

Bloomberg Vault – cloud-based information management services that delivers compliance, eDiscovery and enterprise archiving by leveraging the scalability and reliability of Bloomberg’s global infrastructure, which distributes up to 250 million daily messages and manages more than 70 billion archived records on behalf of Bloomberg Vault subscribers.
(212) 617-6580
http://www.bloomberg.com/vault/?utm_source=bloomberg-menu&bbgsum=DG-WS-09-13-ES-BVAULT-bbgmenu

 

Electronic Mail Archiving & Surveillance Tools

Global Relay – provides messaging services that provide the foundation for mail management, compliance, eDiscovery, and business continuity.  Ask a Core Compliance consultant about preferential pricing available to our clients.
(604) 484-6630
www.globalrelay.com

Smarsh – specializes in e-mail and instant message archiving, WORM Optical Storage, attachment archiving, virus protections, review and reporting tools, and spam filtering.
(866) 762-7741
www.smarsh.com

 

GIPS Verification and Performance Services

CAPS– provides a GIPS composite and management reporting workflow software solution for GIPS compliance and reporting.
(508) 653-2800

Welcome

Deloitte & Touche LLP – offers audit, tax, consultant, and financial advisory services, including GIPS verifications.
(213) 688-0100
www.deloitte.com

 

Administration, Accounting and Fund Auditing Services
EisnerAmper, LLP
– a global firm serving a broad spectrum of financial services and high net worth clients, offering a full range of audit, accounting, taxation, and consulting services.  Hedge fund advisory services include hedge fund audit and tax services as well as support for fund of funds, multi-strategy funds, and PIPES.
(415) 974-6000
www.eisneramper.com

Marcum, LLP – provides consulting, tax, and auditing services for private equity partnerships, hedge funds, off-shore funds, registered investment advisers, and real estate funds, in addition to traditional accounting, assurance, and tax, including domestic and international tax planning.
(212) 485-5501
www.marcumllp.com

KPMG, LLP an international firm that provides audit, tax, and advisory services and industry insight to help organizations negotiate risks and perform in the dynamic and challenging environments in which they do business.
(201) 307-7000
www.kpmg.com

Opus Fund Services, LLC – provides hedge fund administration, including fund accounting/NAV calculations, partner allocations, and year-end reporting services.
(415) 762-8749
www.opusfundservices.com

 

Trade Order Management Systems

SS&C EZE– provides comprehensive technology solutions to broker-dealers, hedge funds, institutional asset managers, mutual funds, pension funds and wealth managers.
(415) 543-7696
https://www.ezesoft.com/

Charles River Systems, Inc. – provides software, hosting, and data services to automate front and middle office investment operations for buy-side firms. On-premise software solutions support portfolio management, compliance and risk monitoring, access to global liquidity, and trade processing.
(781) 425-6460
www.crd.com

Envestnet, Inc. (Tamarac) – offers scalable web-based portfolio management technology that enables investment managers to provide customized, tax-efficient, individual account management to a multitude of clients.
(866) 525-8811
www.tamaracinc.com

Orion – offers a Trade Order Management platform that provides advisors with scalable solutions that allow them to create, review and edit their trade orders with powerful back-end processing.
(402) 496-3513
https://www.orionadvisor.com/solutions/trade-order-management/

 

Proxy Voting Services
Broadridge Financial Solutions
– their ProxyVoteTM system supplies tools to help manage proxy votes, keep records, and maintain compliance.
(800) 353-0103
www.broadridge.com

Glass Lewis – Proxy Voting ViewPoint ® offers proxy vote management solutions that support all aspects of governance programs, from engagement before, during and after the proxy season, to the implementation of custom policies, to reporting for clients, management and regulators.
(888) 800-7001
http://www.glasslewis.com/

ISS – utilizes proprietary data and the ease of using one integrated platform for proxy research, voting and reporting.
(646) 680-6350
https://www.issgovernance.com/solutions/proxy-voting-services/

For more information, please contact us at (619) 278- 0020 or visit us at www.corecls.com.

 

Editor: Michelle L. Jacko, CEO, Core Compliance & Legal Services (“Core Compliance”).  Core Compliance works extensively with investment advisers, broker-dealers, investment companies, hedge funds, private equity firms, and banks on regulatory compliance issues.

 

This article is for information purposes and does not contain or convey legal or tax advice. The information herein should not be relied upon in regard to any particular facts or circumstances without first consulting with a lawyer and/or tax professional.

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