Welcome to Compliance Best Practices, the blog where state and SEC-registered investment advisers can learn about the best practices of the investment advisory profession and the hidden perils associated with these unwritten rules of compliance.

Why the Name Compliance Best Practices?

As if understanding the myriad rules and regulations applicable to investment advisers was not difficult enough, advisers are also frequently expected to adhere to the “best practices” of the investment advisory profession. Outside of “the compliance examiner is at the door,” few other words in the compliance arena provoke a stronger reaction among investment advisers than do “best practices.” Not without good reason, mind you. Elusive, undocumented and constantly changing, best practices are a volatile mix of desperation and unsubstantiated rumor. Unfortunately, most advisers are only made aware of these best practices though word of mouth or during a regulatory examination. The former is often unreliable and the latter is often undesirable.

Advisers who ignore current industry best practices do so at their own peril. Indeed, best practices often have a nasty habit of quickly morphing into hard and fast rules. Anyone who doubts this need only be reminded of an adviser’s obligation (despite no clear rules) to implement anti-money laundering procedures to handle the vast amounts of cash (!) passing through their hands on a daily basis; to archive their email and instant messages to redundant sites spread out across the vast expanse of the universe; and to develop a business succession plan designed to hedge against the proverbial piano falling from the sky.

Why Another Compliance Blog?

The fact that the investment advisers are often subject to unwritten rules should not be surprising. After all, we find them in all walks of life and in all professions. Unlike many other professions, however, where an unwritten rule usually becomes the accepted practice only after years of refinement, best practices in the investment advisory profession arise and disappear with unnerving frequency. Though they may be viewed as burdensome, employing best practices dies add up to a culture of compliance.

Therefore, the answer to the question “why another compliance blog” is the alarming lack of helpful compliance information pertaining to best practices. The goal of this blog is to provide investment advisers with help in deciphering the best practices of the investment advisory profession and to better understand the hidden perils associated with noncompliance. A second, but no less important, goal is to keep readers informed of changes in the regulatory landscape (on both the state and federal level) and to offer guidance as to how to best cope with any such changes.

Of course, as the self-appointed arbiter of all that is right and proper in the advisory profession, I may, on occasion, voice an unsolicited opinion here or there. Indeed, be advised reader of this bog – I will speak my mind. I am neither reluctant to lambast the latest compliance “suggestion” from the Securities and Exchange Commission, nor let my displeasure be known when I think an injustice in the advisory profession has been committed. I will stamp my feet, holler at top of my lungs and raise my arms in defiance when needed. More often than not, however, I will try to use the gentler arts of persuasion to get my point across. While sarcasm and irony are woefully under appreciated by your average SEC examiner (an observation learned through bitter experience), I have found that compliance professionals enjoy a healthy sense of humor to cope with the absurd demands of their chosen profession.

Some Typical and Not So Typical Words of Caution

Though each and every one of the opinions offered herein is guaranteed to contain at least one pearl of wisdom, these opinions are mine alone and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of U.S. Compliance Consultants, LLC. Despite 100% certitude on my part as to their validity, please understand that an opinion is just that and is not intended to be treated as fact or serve as the basis for a legal opinion. Anything stated in this blog is for informational purposes only and is not intended to address any specific situation or particular circumstance. Despite my efforts to always be completely accurate, the cold, hard truth is that this blog may contain errors and outdated information. At the very least, older posts may reflect rules and regulations that were in effect at that time of posting, but are hopelessly outdated just a few months later.

As a result, the information imparted in this blog does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, financial or any other type of advice and does not create a client relationship with U.S. Compliance Consultants, LLC. Of course, if you would like to become a client of U.S. Compliance Consultants, LLC, my sources tell me that they would be more than happy to have you join the fold. You need only give them a toll-free call at 888-798-2930 or click on the “Contact Us” link at the top of this page to begin that process. If you feel that you need the services of an attorney to give you specific guidance, please contact one licensed to practice in your local jurisdiction.

So, as we start out on this new venture together, I bid you all a sincere welcome.