Year-End Compliance Considerations for Broker-dealers and Investment Advisers

Overview

As we approach the end of 2024, ensure your year-end compliance checklist is complete. Watch this informative webinar where RegEd product and subject matter experts, along with experts from Essential Edge Consulting, guide you through recommended compliance updates and best practices for the end of this year and beyond.

Topics we covered:

• FINRA Renewal Shutdown: Understand the upcoming CRD/IARD shutdown on December 26, 2024, and what it means for your firm. We’ll discuss necessary steps to ensure compliance, including submission of registration filings, termination of unnecessary registrations, and saving critical renewal reports before the system goes offline.
• IAR Continuing Education (CE): Learn about the implications of the shutdown for Investment Advisor Representatives (IARs), including reporting and updating CE status post-reopening and how to remain compliant to avoid administrative terminations.
• Branch Inspections: An overview of branch inspection program considerations, including updates on Residential Supervisory Locations (RSLs) and modified Form U4, a check-in on FINRA’s Remote Inspections Pilot Program and its EOY deadline, and compliance requirements related to non-registered branch locations.

Additional Resources

We received numerous questions regarding our comments around remote inspections in the states of Indiana and New Mexico.  Therefore, we are including copies of the applicable state resources on this topic with our recording.

• In January 2023, Indiana released a Statement of Policy allowing for remote inspections of branch offices to be conducted indefinitely.
• In December 2023, New Mexico issued Order No: 23-12-6 allowing for remote inspections of single agent branch offices through year-end 2024. Note: We  were able to confirm with the state of New Mexico after our webinar that they DO NOT require designated supervisors of single agent branch offices to be New Mexico residents.  They are required to be registered in New Mexico, but they are not required to live there in order to supervise and inspect these single agent branch locations.

Please feel free to reach out to Margie Webber, Director of Regulatory Compliance at RegEd, at Margie.webber@reged.com if you have any questions.