S5:E1 | The State of the Investment Adviser Industry | Compliance In Context

Welcome back to the Compliance In Context podcast! On today’s show, we have with us two very special guests in the investment management space, Karen Barr from the Investment Adviser Association and Lisa Crossley from the National Society of Compliance Professionals, to discuss the current state of the Investment Adviser industry, what new regulations impacting investment advisers are on the horizon for 2024, and other priorities both organizations are focusing on in 2024. In our Headlines section, we look at a new FinCEN proposal to include “investment adviser” in the definition of “financial institution” under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”) and a new FAQ for registered investment advisers relating to the SEC Marketing Rule. And finally, we’ll wrap up today’s show with another installment of History Has Your Back, where we revisit a famous quote from a tennis legend provides us some inspirational words heading into a busy regulatory filing season.

Show

Headlines

• FinCEN proposed to include “investment adviser” in the definition of “financial institution” under the Bank Secrecy Act (“BSA”)
• SEC”) issued an updated FAQ for investment advisers relating to SEC Rule 206(4)-1 (the “Marketing Rule”), and the reporting of gross and net performance within advertisements

Interview with Karen Barr and Lisa Crossley

• General overview of the IAA and the NSCP
• What is the state of the investment adviser industry?
• What were some of the key metrics from the Investment Adviser Industry Snapshot 2023?
• What are some of the current policy initiatives coming out of the SEC and where do these proposals stand now?
• What are some of the sleeper policy initiatives you anticipate hearing about in 2024?
• What are 2024 organizational initiatives for the NSCP?
• What are 2024 organizational initiatives for the IAA?

Final Segment – History Has Your Back

• Understanding what Billie Jean King meant when she said “Pressure is a Privilege” and what it can teach all compliance officers heading into a busy 2024

Quotes

11:18 - “I think one of the things that I heard in both of your quick responses there and thinking about both organizations that I personally love, being someone who’s obviously very involved in the space, is this idea of community. With the IAA, it is the community of those that are providing services in that trade. On the NSCP side, it’s those that are kind of practicing the specific trade inside of the firms doing compliance. You build these fantastic communities that really help lift each other up in a lot of different ways.” – Patrick Hayes 

23:52 - “It’s very important to let folks know that they need to advocate on this issue. And I just want to say we appreciate that advocacy. It’s your advocacy that inherently helps NSCP members, especially on that issue and so I just wanted to add one thing that we did a little bit differently than this year. It was always–When I was a CCO, I never understood why there was an educational bridge between the SEC and the compliance professionals. And I was fortunate this year to get the ear of Marshall Gandy, who is the Associate Director of the Division of Examinations and to discuss that, and I said ‘How about if your staff came to our conference to sort of get an inside look at what compliance professionals and those that serve them and services providers are grappling with?’ And they did take me up on it, and we worked with Richard Best and the rest of the examination staff, and the feedback we got was that it did open their eyes, and they were able to talk to compliance professionals and spears, and learn themselves that we need more of that type of dialogue with regulators too.” – Lisa Crosley