9 Mistakes to Avoid When Learning Fintech

Tech adoption can be a huge issue for RIA companies, and virtually any business these days. If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that most people can quickly adopt new tech. (Online meetings anyone?) Meanwhile, some may initially resist new tech and later grow to love it. And then there’s the handful of people […]

SEC Scrutinizing RIAs on 12b-1 Fees, Revenue Sharing, and Wrap Fees

The SEC recently took enforcement actions against three Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) that breached their fiduciary duty to advisory clients. In particular, the SEC took disciplinary action against RIAs over issues related to 12b-1 fees, revenue sharing arrangements and wrap fee programs. In brief: The SEC found that one of the firms failed to report […]

How to Train Your Team on New RIA Compliance Tech

Bringing on new tech for RIA compliance can be a major undertaking on top of handling the constantly-updated compliance regulations a firm must navigate. Usually any new tech is software of some kind to help make compliance easier to handle. But once you have new tech selected from a vendor, there’s another huge task. The […]

SEC Findings: Wrap Fee Initiative

The SEC has been watching wrap fee programs for quite a while. From 2017-19, the SEC’s annual examination priorities named wrap fee programs as putting investors at risk. The SEC’s Division of Examinations (Division) released a July 21, 2021 Risk Alert with guidance from examiners during its Wrap Fee Initiative. The Risk Alert, “Observations from […]

Fiduciary Duty Is Broader Than Many Think

A Registered Investment Adviser’s (RIA) and its Investment Adviser Representatives’ (IARs) obligations as fiduciaries are quite extensive. Even seasoned Investment Advisers may not fully understand their fiduciary obligations. Fiduciary duty encompasses much more than just the duty to be honest and avoid negligence. Advisers also owe an affirmative duty of loyalty, which means RIAs and […]