Each week we’re giving you our weekly report highlighting the top compliance news articles from various industry news publications. We have selected the most relevant and important news articles related to registered investment adviser (RIA) compliance and regulatory issues. Check back each week for the latest list of top stories.
Here’s our top investment adviser compliance articles for the week of January 23, 2016:
- Cybersecurity solutions to weak passwords (Author- Alessandra Malito, InvestmentNews)
As reported by Ali Malito with InvestmentNews, advisers need to pay more attention to complex password requirements, password manager tools, fingerprint scanners, and other evolving technologies to protect data. Gone are the days of simple passwords and login credentials. Advisers need to be sure they have a strong cybersecurity policy in place and are not utilizing any of the most common passwords in use such as: 123456, password, or 12345678.
- Tech Tools to Streamline Compliance (Author- Joel Bruckenstein, Financial Planning)
With a growing number of available technology solutions for investment advisers, advisers are still seeing very few RIA compliance software solutions. Joel Bruckenstein breaks down two leading options including our MyRIACompliance® online RIA compliance software solution. Check out Joel Bruckenstein’s full article here to read what each software solution has to offer.
- Dear Breakaway Broker: Know Your Employment Agreement(s) (Author- Chris Stanley, ThinkAdvisor)
Chris Stanley takes the time to break down several different types of agreements between employee and employer including non-compete, non-solicit, confidentiality / trade secrets and non-disparagement clauses that all advisers considering starting their own RIA firm should be thinking about. It’s important that potential breakaway brokers also familiarize themselves with the broker protocol. Be sure to check out this informative piece that is a must read for advisers currently associated with another firm and thinking about breaking away.
- Debate on Fiduciary Is Over; Battle for ‘Best Interest’ Rages On (Author- Knut A. Rostad, ThinkAdvisor)
According to Knut Rostad, 2016 could be a historic year as to how the financial advisor industry ultimately defines “best interest.” Knut Rostad does a terrific job explaining the nuances and key differences of how various regulatory agencies and industry groups currently define “best interest.” Are conflicts of interest inevitable and thus must simply be properly disclosed or instead should conflicts of interest be avoided completely at all times?
- DOL fiduciary rule arrives at OMB (Author- Mark Schoeff Jr., InvestmentNews)
The Department of Labor (DOL) fiduciary rule that would raise investment advice standards for retirement accounts was sent to the Office of Management and Budget on Thursday night. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has no more than 90 days to review the rule. Stay tuned.
Be sure to check back next Friday for next week’s top articles!