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Our Services
Compliance
Advisor Professionals, LLC (CAP)
provides a wide range of services from initial investment
adviser registration to on-going compliance support, as well
as guidance on specific compliance issues.
We understand the enormous demands on the time of
compliance officers and staff. Our
services are designed to provide compliance staff and
department managers with access to regulatory expertise that
would otherwise require the addition of expensive in-house
professionals.
Provided
below is a short summary of our services.
Please note, however, that this list is not
all-inclusive, as we tailor our services to fit your firm’s
individual needs. Please click on the links below for more information about
each item.
"Ellen
Bruno has provided compliance services to our firm for over
two years. I am continually impressed with the depth of
her knowledge, her timeliness, common sense, attention to
detail and client focused attitude. I strongly recommend
Ellen and Compliance Advisor Professionals, LLC to any firm
seeking first class advice and service."
Robert Katz, CPA/PFS
Kingdom Capital Management, Inc.
President
New Orleans, LA
Full
Service Investment Adviser Registration:
The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 created a jurisdictional divide in the
 regulation of investment advisers. Generally, those advisers managing assets of $30 million or more, advisers in states which currently do not register advisers, and advisers to registered investment companies, are required to register and be regulated solely by the SEC.
The
professional staff at CAP has the expertise necessary to
effectively organize your Investment Adviser registration. CAP
registers advisory firms with the SEC or state as required,
and provides the following:
-
Preparation
and filing of Form ADV Part I and all applicable schedules
through lARD;
-
Preparation
of Form ADV Part II for use as your client brochure;
-
Registration
of all investment advisory representatives through lARD;
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Preparation
and submittal of all additional documents required by
regulators;
-
Compliance
manual;
-
Sample
investment advisory agreements;
-
Training
on the lARD system;
-
Assignment
of a CAP consultant to answer questions throughout the
registration process.
*All
of the registration services described above are also
available on an a la carte basis.
(For example, if your firm needs sample investment
advisory contracts, we can provide those individually, rather
than bundled in a registration package.)
A
La
Carte Services:
Our
goal is to offer customized solutions
for our clients, and we are committed to providing each client
with personal and
professional attention.
We
appreciate your interest in our firm and hope to do business
with you in the near future. For more information about our services and/or our firm
please call us at 508.828.1410, or contact
us here.
General
Consulting and Research
CAP
provides clients with a confidential source to call when they
have compliance questions.
We
understand the enormous demands made on today’s managers of
investment firms - time and money is valuable.
The regulatory expertise and industry experience
offered by our professional staff makes it easier for our
clients to avoid expensive in-house staff and to focus on
marketing and product selection; all while gaining the
security of knowing that they are being helped to meet their
regulatory responsibilities economically and efficiently.
CAP
provides the following compliance consulting services:
-
Assistance
with compliance matters that may arise during the course
of the business day
-
Research
and answers to specific compliance questions
-
Updates
on new and amended rules
-
Assistance
with monthly, quarterly & annual filing deadlines
-
Assistance
with advertising and sales literature
-
Assistance
with review and analysis of customer complaints
-
Assistance
with review and analysis of regulatory inquiries (i.e.,
investigations, audits, etc.)
-
Research
rules relating to specific products/services.
Back
Sample
Investment Advisory Contracts
CAP
Sample Investment Advisory Contracts cover discretionary and
non-discretionary portfolio management and financial planning
services. Contracts include affiliated brokerage, services and
fees, discretionary brokerage, ERISA bonding, Bailey-directed
brokerage, soft dollars, conflicts of interest, and proxy
voting. We also offer a sample Solicitor's Agreement and
Solicitor’s Disclosure Document.
Back
Form
ADV Preparation, Filing and / or Reviews
Your
Form ADV needs to be accurate and current at all times.
CAP will prepare or review your Form ADV, including
disclosures of services, fees, sources of compensation, wrap
fee arrangements, material affiliations and any conflicts of
interest, potential or otherwise, and then provide suggestions
for changes and additional disclosures.
We
can also administer the annual IARD renewals of state
registrations for state advisers or notice filings for SEC
advisers, as well as annual IARD renewals of agents.
We
expect the SEC to approve changes to Form ADV Part II during
2005. Our staff will be prepared to assist you in preparing
your new disclosure document on a timely basis.
Back
Form
ADV Annual Amendment
Firms
are required to do an Annual Updating Amendment on the IARD
within 90 days of their fiscal year end. CAP can complete your
annual amendment quickly and efficiently.
Back
Registration
and Licensing Monitoring Service
CAP
offers a cost effective licensing and registration management
and monitoring service that includes registration and
licensing of your firm and investment adviser representatives
with the SEC and States. We can prepare registrations quickly
and efficiently, and our staff knows the preferences and
idiosyncrasies of many of the state regulators.
Back
Investment
Adviser Compliance and Supervisory Procedures Manual
Rule
206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act requires all investment
advisers to develop and implement compliance programs no later
than October 5, 2004. Such compliance programs must include
written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent
violation of the Advisers Act.
The
written procedures should include, at a minimum, the following
areas:
-
Portfolio
management processes, including allocation of investment
opportunities among clients and consistency of portfolios
with guidelines established by clients, disclosures, and
regulatory requirements;
-
Trading
practices, including procedures by which the adviser
satisfies its best execution obligation, uses client
brokerage to obtain research and other services (“soft
dollar arrangements”), and allocates aggregate trades
among clients;
-
Proprietary
trading of the adviser and personal trading activities of
supervised persons;
-
The
accuracy of disclosures made to investors, including
information in advertisements;
-
Safeguarding
of client assets from conversion or inappropriate use by
advisory personnel;
-
The
accurate creation of required records and their
maintenance in a manner that secures them from
unauthorized alteration or use and protects them from
untimely destruction;
-
Marketing
advisory services, including the use of solicitors;
-
Processes
to value client holdings and assess fees based on those
valuations;
-
Safeguards
for the protection of client records and information; and
-
Business
continuity plans.
Our
procedures are updated as needed throughout the year to
reflect changes in industry best practices and new rules and
regulations.
Back
Mock
SEC / State Examinations
As
a result of CAP’s active investment advisory practice, we
see SEC comment letters quite frequently. We have a pulse on
the latest SEC exam focus, as well as district office
differences. CAP will examine your firm for compliance with
SEC requirements and, if requested, issue a confidential
report to management outlining our examination findings with
recommendations for corrective action. In addition, CAP will
assist in creating solutions to the issues identified in the
examination. If your firm falls under state regulation our
examination will be tailored to the rules of the applicable
state(s). The examinations generally cover the following
areas:
-
Form
ADV/Brochure Disclosure and Delivery;
-
Client
Agreements, including Solicitor Agreements and Disclosure
Letters;
-
Portfolio
Management;
-
Brokerage
Practices including Aggregation and Allocation Policies,
Best Execution and Soft Dollar Arrangements;
-
Compensation
/ Client Fees;
-
Custody
of Client Funds and Securities;
-
Advertising,
including Marketing/Performance Presentations and Website
review;
-
Wrap
Fee Programs;
-
Internal
Controls;
-
Conflicts
of Interest;
-
Insider
Trading Policies;
-
Books
and Records;
-
Proxy
Voting Policies;
-
Business
Recovery Planning;
-
Privacy
Policies.
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Offsite
Compliance Review
CAP
offers an offsite compliance review – similar to the Mock
SEC Examination described above. CAP will request certain
documents, and upon review and discussion, issue a
confidential report to management outlining our examination
findings with recommendations for corrective action. In
addition, CAP will assist in creating solutions to the issues
identified in the examination.
CAP
can help identify potential problems so that you have the time
to correct them before the regulators arrive.
Back
Advertising/Performance
Review
The
SEC and other regulators are placing increased focus on
marketing and performance information, including preparation,
reporting and footnoting. CAP will review your advertising and
performance presentations including your website and
performance data and make recommendations for proper and
appropriate procedures and disclosures.
Back
 Training-
Online and In Person
Demand
for our compliance training programs is continuing to increase
as firms find they cannot outsource all aspects of these
important functions. We provide training in person and via web
cast. The following are examples of training areas for
investment advisers. Again, we will customize programs to meet
your firm's particular needs.
-
Registration
Training including lARD;
-
Supervision;
-
Privacy
Policy;
-
Best
Execution Monitoring;
-
Advertising
Including Performance Reporting;
-
Trading
Practices;
-
Conflicts
of Interest;
-
Insider
Trading;
-
Books
and Records Requirements for Investment Advisers;
-
Training
for Compliance Staff;
-
Business
Recovery Planning;
-
Mutual
Fund and Variable Product Issues;
-
New
SEC initiatives - Proxy Voting, Custody, Hedge Fund
Sweeps;
-
Hedge
Fund Regulation & Compliance;
-
Investment
Advisory Contracts;
-
Anti-Money
Laundering Requirements for Hedge Funds and Investment
Advisers
-
Maximizing
Your Understanding of the Advisers Act;
Our
training allows you to train staff quickly, efficiently and
cost-effectively; minimize your regulatory risk; learn
practical methods to satisfy regulatory and compliance
requirements; focus your training on specific topics; and earn
continuing education credits.
Back
Code
of Ethics
The SEC has
released new Rule 204A-1 of the Advisers Act which requires
each federally registered investment adviser to adopt and
maintain a written code of ethics that sets forth a standard
of business conduct that the adviser requires of all its
supervised persons. When developing a code of ethics, an
adviser must include the following:
-
Periodic
reporting and review of all “access person’s”
personal securities transactions and holdings to
the adviser’s chief compliance officer or other designated
person;
-
The
requirement that access persons obtain the adviser’s
approval before investing in an initial public
offering or private placement;
-
A
provision for the prompt internal reporting of any violation
of the code to the adviser’s chief compliance
officer;
-
A
requirement that the code and any subsequent amendment to the
code is provided to each supervised
person;
-
A
requirement that the adviser maintain and enforce the code.
This authority is vested to the chief compliance
officer or persons under his/her authority;
-
A
requirement that the adviser keep copies of the code, records
of violations of the code, actions taken as a result of any
violation of the code; and
-
A
copy of the receipt of the adviser’s supervised person’s
written acknowledgement of receiving a copy of the code.
CAP has developed a template
Code of Ethics to help you comply with the new rule.
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