Retail investors are confused! They fundamentally cannot differentiate between a broker-dealer and an investment adviser. And that has the SEC concerned. So when the DOL Fiduciary Rule was overturned earlier this year, the SEC stepped into the debate with its April proposal. And that was a key topic of discussion at the recent CSS/Ascendant fall … Continued

Thinking about how to make ethics and compliance part of a business’s decision-making can prove to be challenging. By nature, compliance professionals are often results-oriented, focusing on a binary end-result; either you are in compliance, or you are not. That focus is important, but emphasizing process is also vital, John Walsh, Partner at Eversheds Sutherland … Continued

It’s no surprise that Compliance and IT do not speak the same language. Compliance staff often speak in terms of regulations and policies, whereas bits and bytes are the language of IT staff. This distinction is clear when it comes to cybersecurity risk management, as the compliance and IT audiences are looking for different takeaways … Continued

Advanced planning for a regulatory exam remains a vital step in ensuring the compliance team is prepared when the exam teams comes knocking. At the recent Ascendant/CSS fall conference in San Diego, Allison Fraser moderated the conference’s capstone session on the topic, joined by Bryan Bennett, the Associate Regional Director in the examination program in … Continued

We live in a world filled with dramatic change on a scale we’ve never seen before. The speed and magnitude of change in so many areas is fueled by technology. The sheer number of processes and functions we’re able to address simply from our phones has upended so many different industries, including travel, entertainment, and … Continued