One week after the SEC adopted Regulation Best Interest and Form CRS, a Cincinnati roundtable hosted by Fort Washington Investment Advisors, Inc. Private Funds & Regulatory Compliance Manager Andre Rickman ran through early impressions of the new rules and their accompanying Interpretive Releases with a very interested group. CSS Regulatory Compliance Expert Greg Hotaling opened … Continued

From the C-Suite to the Compliance Seat, executives, senior management, and risk management professionals have a very important role to play in driving their firms towards a more resilient organization.

Securities Financing Transaction Regulation (SFTR) reporting is rapidly taking shape as firms prepare to report with a phased in approach from April 2020. The latest milestone is the publication of ESMA’s draft SFTR Reporting Guidelines in late May. These extensive draft guidelines are subject to a consultation period but even in their current state will … Continued

SFTR is designed to enhance transparency of Securities Finance Transactions (SFTs) for all financial and non-financial EU entities and, branches of non-EU entities. The reporting obligation begins 11 April 2020 for investment firms, followed by a nine-month phased approach for other firms. Need a quick introduction to the key details of the regulation? Download our … Continued

We’re still digesting all the great takeaways from the recent AIMA Global Policy & Regulatory Forum 2019. The theme was “Technology, Innovation, Change,” which is exactly what firms should be focused on this year. In the general session, Jeanette Turner, Chief Regulatory Officer of CSS, led a lively panel on “Technology as a Gamechanger” with … Continued

For compliance teams, pulling it all together is a complex and laborious process fraught with the perils of what might have been missed along the way.

In this case study we explore how traditional transaction cost analysis (TCA) models using alternative benchmarks can accurately identify trades that appear to benefit one account or fund over another.

It’s Friday afternoon, and you’re planning to leave early and get a jump start on your weekend. You receive an email with the subject “Office 365 – Failed Login Attempts – Password Reset Required Immediately!” You wonder who tried to access your account or whether you forgot to logout of your email on the public computer at the hotel business center.

Would you buy a car without taking it for a test drive? It seems obvious you would want to know the vehicle has all its parts, and that those components work together to make the vehicle operate properly.

Guest post by Samson Williams, Partner – Axes & Eggs and Keynote Speaker – Ascendant CSS Spring 2019 Conference  I started telling people that blockchain isn’t hot sauce in mid-2017 to help explain why initial coin offerings (ICOs) were just the latest form of unregulated, online gambling. In November 2017, with Bitcoin nearing a high … Continued

This ComplianceCast will discuss how firms can mitigate risk by having effective disclosure in their Form ADV Brochure. Our panelists will be CSS Ascendant Senior Consultant Ariana Monchick and Jessica Matelis, Partner at Foley & Lardner and former Senior Counsel at the SEC Division of Enforcement. They will discuss: Required disclosures The types of conflicts … Continued

In the runup to 1 January 2018, financial firms the world over rushed to select service providers for the various tools required to comply with PRIIPS and MiFID II.

Compliance programs face challenges in balancing global requirements with local exceptions while incorporating the fast pace of regulatory change, addressing critical business needs and obtaining the necessary resources necessary to manage the program. Trends and thinking on the subject were center stage at the recent CSS London event “Looking at the Year Ahead – Global … Continued

When you’re saving for your retirement, you want to know that your funds are in safe hands. For Elo—Finland’s leading provider of pensions for self-employed people—the aim is to support the financing of pensions by obtaining a good long-term return on pension assets relative to the risk of the investments.

The SEC and FINRA have recently released their examination priorities for 2019. These releases provide insight into regulatory priorities and serve as guidance for a firm in evaluating its compliance program.