RIA Compliance. The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has now published its examination priorities for 2019. Their five themes are included here and below is the detail:
- Compliance and Risks in Critical Market Infrastructure
- Retail Investors
- FINRA and MSRB
- Cybersecurity; and
- Anti-Money Laundering programs.
Here are the details:
Compliance and Risks in Critical Market Infrastructure – OCIE will continue to examine entities that provide services critical to the proper functioning of capital markets. They will conduct examinations of these firms which include, among others, clearing agencies, national securities exchanges, and transfer agents, focusing on certain aspects of their operations and compliance with recently effective rules.
Retail Investors, Including Seniors and Those Saving for Retirement –OCIE will focus examinations on the disclosure and calculation of fees, expenses, and other charges investors pay, the supervision of representatives selling products and services to investors, broker-dealers entrusted with customer assets, and portfolio management and trading.
FINRA and MSRB – OCIE will continue its oversight of FINRA by focusing examinations on FINRA’s operations and regulatory programs and the quality of FINRA’s examinations of broker-dealers and municipal advisors.
Cybersecurity– Each of OCIE’s examination programs will prioritize cybersecurity with an emphasis on, among other things, proper configuration of network storage devices, information security governance, and policies and procedures related to retail trading information security.
Anti-Money Laundering Programs – Examiners will review for broker-dealer compliance with applicable anti-money laundering requirements, including whether firms are appropriately adapting their AML programs to address their regulatory obligations.
For all the important details and information, click here, for the 2019 Exam Priorities.
