News, Vision and Voice for
the Advisory Community
advertisement

Content tagged "Les Abromovitz"

National Compliance Services, Inc.

Filed under: Compliance Expert, Consulting Firm, RIA Set-up Firm, Regulatory Consultant
See full listing in the directory »

Les Abromovitz: "Social plug-ins,” such as the “like” feature, might be viewed by examiners as a testimonial.

Think about compliance before sending or posting those articles you read
A new SEC alert gives updated guidance regarding the pitfalls of using social media

Monday 1.23.12
Les Abromovitz: You won't score points with examiners by having superfluous or irrelevant policies and procedures.

Recent SEC enforcement actions make annual policies and procedures exams even more important
Sprucing up your compliance manual early and often can prevent the SEC leaving coal in your Christmas stocking

Thursday 1.5.12
Les Abromovitz: A word or two can make the difference between a compliant video and one that is potentially misleading.

Why RIA videos are especially fraught with regulatory pitfalls
The productions are expensive so check with the CCO before rolling the cameras

Monday 12.5.11
Les Abromovitz: [Soft dollar use] may affect the best execution of securities transactions and might cause the client to pay more than the lowest-available commission.

RIAs need to take a hard look at their use of soft dollars
Some advisors are landing in hot water with the SEC

Friday 11.11.11
Les Abromovitz: Investment advisors should avoid selective amnesia in their newsletters.

Advisor newsletters: Compliance-wise, all news may not be fit to print
Even a photograph of a client may be viewed as a testimonial

Wednesday 10.19.11
Les Abromovitz: Ironically, the RIA that received notice of this desk audit was not required to be registered in the state conducting the examination.

RIAs switching to state registration may be examined by a second regulator, too
The audit may come remotely from a state where the advisor doesn't have a place of business

Thursday 9.22.11
Les Abromovitz: An RIA should have ready access to current contact information for clients, employees, regulators, custodians, and service providers.

RIAs must prepare for post-disaster recovery or regulators will lower the boom
Tornadoes, floods and hurricanes, sure, but death, disability and bad succession plans can also be disastrous for clients

Wednesday 8.24.11
Les Abromovitz: Avoid statements that expressly state or imply that you and your firm are in a class by yourself.

Examiners may ask “Says who?” about your advertisements
RIAs may run afoul of the SEC by using superlatives like "unparalleled" and "unique"

Tuesday 6.21.11
Les Abromovitz: In a discussion of this issue, one attorney at NCS argued that the individual was giving the Facebook page a thumbs-up, not the advisory firm. It remains to be seen if regulators will make that distinction.

Why compliance experts are apt to dislike Facebook
When does a click constitute an endorsement?

Friday 5.13.11
Les Abromovitz: Resolving these issues at the firm level reduces the risk that someone will take their complaint to regulators.

Potential whistleblowers have little to lose and millions to gain with the SEC's reward system
Here's how to keep complaints from turning into tip-off phone calls

Thursday 4.14.11
Les Abromovitz suggests that advisors file their ADV forms even if they're not happy with the content: 'You are at least making a good faith effort to be compliant.'

How suitable are your investment strategies? The SEC cares, a lot.
New ADV form heightens attention to the issue

Wednesday 3.30.11
Les Abromovitz: The fact that another adviser is engaging in the same conduct does not make it compliant. For example, you won’t help your cause by showing examiners other RIA websites that are just as noncompliant as yours is.

What not to do during a state or SEC audit
The four tempting -- but ultimately counterproductive -- tacts advisors sometimes take

Tuesday 3.8.11
The mere fact that clients give you their e-mail address should not be construed as consent to delivery of important documents.

How to avoid that fatal blow to client communication
Keep tweets, text messages and e-mails in their proper places

Monday 2.14.11
Les Abromovitz: Glowing remarks by clients may count as testimonials.

Considering hosting a radio show? The SEC may tune in.
Radio programs and commercials pose compliance complications. Disclosure helps.

Thursday 1.20.11
Les Abromovitz: Recently, one RIA firm that I work with claimed to have created hundreds of unique solutions. Those kinds of claims invite a securities examiner to ask for proof that the firm’s solutions are truly out of the ordinary.

The marketing naughty and nice list
Catchwords and strategies likely to draw regulators' ire -- and others that pass anyone's test

Thursday 12.23.10
Les Abromovitz: Working on an elected official or candidate’s campaign may also fall within the definition of “contribution” found in the pay-to-play rule.

SEC's new pay-to-play rules call for you to investigate your employees' political giving
Surprisingly broad regs kick in next quarter, covering RIAs that do business with the government

Tuesday 11.30.10
Les Abromovitz: Aside from the issue of whether a designation or certification is misleading, all financial services firms should be concerned about investment advisers who claim to have credentials they did not earn.

Why you should pay attention to proliferating advisor credentials
Les Abromovitz heads to Nebraska to figure out which letters are worthwhile -- and which take little more than a check and a pulse to earn

Tuesday 11.2.10
Les Abromovitz: The SEC’s observation was surprising.

So you're an RIA. Be careful about calling yourself one, says the SEC
Beware of using the term as focal point for marketing; some states may have competing regulations

Monday 10.11.10
The Investment Adviser Association's annual report on the state of the industry reinforces the idea that the big-firm model is winning out over the small-firm model.

Three signs RIA firms are adapting to the brave new world
Looking for change with the help of the IAA's annual report: service providers are gearing up, AUM is rising and the big firms are winning

Tuesday 10.5.10
Les Abromovitz: Some advisers designate one particular person who is responsible for addressing questions pertaining to seniors.

When it comes to senior investors, regulators are breathing down your shoulder
A Colorado advisor who oversold hedge funds may pay a price

Tuesday 9.21.10
Les Abromovitz: Your narrative should use the active voice. Words must be definitive and concrete. As always, you should be looking for language that unsophisticated investors can understand.

Now, the SEC wants you to be a writer, too?
ADV Part 2 form calls for clear language, and detailed descriptions even of the people working for you

Thursday 9.2.10
Charles Goldman: Off advisors' minds.

What do advisors care about? The new SEC that emerged in July, for one thing.
Plus, what a Smith Barney breakaway team is finding out about financial plans

Thursday 8.12.10
Les Abromovitz: You need to be extremely careful when conducting free lunch seminars, since regulators are keeping a watchful eye on them.

Four active marketing strategies that can lead to compliance trouble
How far can RIAs go with advertisements? Part deux

Tuesday 8.10.10
Les Abromovitz: Back when I went to law school, attorneys didn’t advertise on television, let alone on urinals.

How far can RIAs go with advertisements?
Don't take your cues from restaurants or lawyers

Thursday 7.15.10
Les Abromovitz: You can establish a dialogue with the SEC -- but beware of asking to change your audit to a different day.

Hello! The SEC wants your records by tomorrow
One advisor had a day to produce voluminous records. That's the kind of request likely to grow more common as the SEC performs more unscheduled audits

Wednesday 6.30.10
Les Abromovitz: The SEC has extremely high expectations for people serving as chief compliance officers.

What the ADV form of Kenneth I. Starr's RIA reveals and what to make of it
It appears that Starr had his son, Ronald, as chief compliance officer

Friday 6.4.10
Les Abromovitz: For compliance purposes, image must be grounded in reality. Advisers should not attempt to project the image that they are miracle workers who will be successful in every market.

Compliance GPS: It may be a mistake to project too successful an image, especially in a post-Bernie Madoff world
Hint: photos of you on a yacht may not be what your clients are looking for right now

Tuesday 5.25.10
Les Abromovitz: The SEC examiner in your office may be a bit more skeptical about your firm’s conduct than was previously the case during a routine examination.

The SEC's unannounced compliance exams are growing more common. That means the ‘I’ll-get-to-it’ strategy is an even worse idea than before.
How to test your firm’s readiness

Wednesday 4.28.10
Les Abromovitz: Solo practitioners need to have a succession plan, too.

The SEC wants you to consider the catastrophes
How an RIA should prepare for the worst

Wednesday 4.7.10
Les Abromovitz: When it comes to past perfomance, you are obliged to reveal the bad along with the good.

One excuse the SEC doesn't listen to: I was just following the crowd
Third-party rankings misleading without the context; here's how to give it

Monday 3.22.10
Les Abromovitz: When the SEC takes a stand on social media, it is likely to reach many of the same conclusions

FINRA guidance may help RIAs avoid social media blunders
Even employees' LinkedIn profiles ought to be supervised

Friday 2.26.10
Les Abromovitz: Regulators are very wary of advertising and marketing efforts aimed at senior investors, including the so-called free-lunch seminars.

SEC’s heightened interest in the older set means advisors should pay heed
Questions of diminished capacity, appropriate investing strategy apply

Tuesday 2.2.10
Les Abromovitz: Is your web site updated for current economic conditions?

2010 to-do list for RIAs: Get out of the comfort zone, avoid SEC problems
Marketing and compliance resolutions that start with the Internet and end at the gym

Tuesday 1.12.10
Les Abromovitz: Not surprisingly, advisors' hypothetical case studies have happy endings.

Advertising practices that can raise the hackles of regulators
Photos, staff plaudits and hypotheticals are still testimonials by any other name

Thursday 11.19.09
Les Abromovitz: It is imperative that RIAs routinely dust off the cobwebs on their website.

Outdated RIA websites risk compliance trouble not to mention credibility
Esteem from having a website gets squandered by neglecting its content

Monday 10.12.09
An outright ban on non-business use of social media may present its own legal problems.

10 top ways to use social media without courting regulatory trouble
Make social media part of your compliance plan

Tuesday 9.22.09
Les Abromovitz: Younger advisors may not be in a position to change the firm's culture as it relates to marketing and advertising

High costs, low value explain meager social media use by financial advisors, experts say
New study shows that financial advisors mostly delete Twitter from practices

Friday 9.4.09
I'm open to pitches from guest writers

Submit articles to RIABiz
Contribution policy is not elaborate

Friday 8.28.09
Les Abromovitz: Twitter's 140-word limit leaves scant room for disclosures

Social media can turn regulatory exam into fiery wreck
Tweeting and Linking in are fair game for sharp-pencilled regulator

Tuesday 8.25.09
advertisement

From the RIABiz Directory »

The Industry Sourcebook for RIAs

RIABiz
Archives »

2012:
   February
   January
2011:
   December
   November
   October
   September
   August
   July
   June
   May
   April
   March
   February
   January
2010:
   December
   November
   October
   September
   August
   July
   June
   May
   April
   March
   February
   January
2009:
   December
   November
   October
   September
   August

By Author:
   Brooke Southall
   Lisa Shidler
   Dina Hampton
   Heather Underwood
   Nevin Freeman
advertisement

Common Tags »

Schwab (253)
Fidelity (181)
TD Ameritrade (149)
Pershing (93)
SEC (90)
LPL (82)
Merrill Lynch (67)
Advent (65)
Black Diamond (57)
FINRA (55)
HighTower (44)
Ron Rhoades (41)
Les Abromovitz (41)
Tim Welsh (40)
MarketCounsel (39)
Brian Hamburger (39)
Focus Financial (37)
Bernie Clark (37)
Envestnet (37)
Raymond James (36)
Breakaway Resources (35)
Mike Durbin (34)
UBS (33)
Tiburon Strategic Advisors (32)
fiduciary standard (30)
Smith Barney (30)
Nexus Strategy (29)
401(k) (29)
advertisement

Most Emailed Stories »

Read 
Story » Fred Reish: Before, the statement said that you should consider firing the provider but now it's very clear that it's mandated.DOL tells employers when they must fire advisors to 401(k) plansRead 
Story » Larry King: No one owns us...It's really the best of all worlds.Dynasty adds Larry King, a cornerstone advisor of legacy Smith Barney's family wealth unitRead 
Story » Frank Leto sees value in Davidson Trust though Boston Private said it had a negligible bottom line impact. Where Boston Private Financial stands after selling one of its last original acquisitions for $10.5 million Read 
Story » Marty Bicknell: There will absolutely be more deals [this year].Mariner Wealth Advisors buys a $1.3 billion wealth manager that first unwound its ties to a bankRead 
Story » Lou Harvey: It's really going to annoy the hell out of the plan sponsors.Which three of DOL's new 401(k) rules represent the biggest land mines for financial advisors and plan sponsors