Filing Requirements Archives - Page 4 of 6

Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure

Posted on March 26, 2021March 26, 2021 by admin

Rule 204-3, the brochure rule, is a requirement under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 that requires investment advisers to provide a written disclosure statement to their clients. The rule applies to all federally registered investment advisers and specifies times during the advisory process at which they must provide the materials. To satisfy this rule, adviser can either provide clients Part 2 of the Form ADV, or they can provide an actual brochure that contains the same information that would be found in Form ADV Part 2A and 2B.

Part 2 of the Form ADV consists of:

Form ADV Part 2A: Firm Brochure
Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Wrap Fee Program Brochure
Form ADV Part 2B: Brochure Supplement describing certain supervised persons.

This blog will cover Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure, for more information on Form ADV, check out our Form ADV blog now, or our Part 2A Appendix 1 of Form ADV: Wrap Fee Program Brochure and Part 2A of Form ADV: Firm Brochure blogs being posted soon.

5 W’s of the SAR Narrative

Posted on March 24, 2021 by admin

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) requires certain financial institutions to file Suspicious Activities Reports (“SARs”) in order to enable law enforcement to initiate or supplement major money laundering or terrorist financing investigations and other criminal cases. Financial institutions use the SAR to document and report suspicious or potentially suspicious activity among their clients. The report has a narrative format, requiring financial institutions to document all suspicious activity concisely and in chronological order.

In general, a SAR narrative should identify the five essential elements of information – who? what? when? where? and why?

Filing A Suspicious Activity Report (“SAR”)

Posted on March 19, 2021April 14, 2021 by admin

The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network requires certain financial institutions to file a Suspicious Activities Reports (“SAR”) to report suspicious transactions, as detailed in their FinCEN SAR Electronic Filing Instructions. This blog will go over some of the important aspects of filing a Suspicious Activity Report.

FINRA Notice 21-03: Low-Priced Securities Fraud

Posted on March 15, 2021March 15, 2021 by admin

FINRA released regulatory notice 21-03, FINRA Urges Firms to Review Their Policies and Procedures Relating to Red Flags of Potential Securities Fraud Involving Low-Priced Securities, discussing issues with these securities offerings and fraud. Specifically, including those involving COVID-19 and cannabis related businesses, which appear to have been part of potential pump-and-dump or market manipulation schemes that target unsuspecting investors.

In the notice, FINRA states that “Low-priced securities tend to be volatile and trade in low volumes. It may be difficult to find accurate information about them. There is a long history of bad actors exploiting these features to engage in fraudulent manipulations of low-priced securities. Frequently, these actors take advantage of trends and major events — such as the growth in cannabis-related businesses or the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic — to perpetrate the fraud.”

State Exemptions from Investment Adviser Registration

Posted on March 12, 2021March 12, 2021 by admin

For an investment adviser to qualify for an exemption from state registration, they have to either meet an exemption under the Investment Act of 1940, be a federal covered adviser, or be registered with the SEC. The Dodd-Frank Act has created 3 thresholds for investment advisers based of their assets under management (“AUM”) as well as some more general exclusions, all of which provide advisers the ability to register with the SEC.

Change to New York IAR Registration

Posted on March 3, 2021March 3, 2021 by admin

On December 1, 2020, the state of New York adopted new regulations that amended its Investment Advisory Act to require the registration of investment adviser representatives (“IAR”) including principals, supervisors, and solicitors through the WebCRD/IARD system. Prior to the rule change, New York was the only state that did not license IAR via the WebCRD/IARD system. The change to to New York IAR registration will go into effect on February 1, 2021 for all new registrants, and December 2, 2021 for any New York IARs already providing services, provided they apply for registration by August 31, 2021. The Amendments The Read more about Change to New York IAR Registration[…]