SEC and FINRA compliance guides
20 guides in 4 categories
Every guide opens on the one sentence of the rule it turns on, quoted with its citation, and then explains what that sentence asks a small firm to do. They are written for the person who keeps the books: the chief compliance officer of a one-office RIA, or the principal of a broker-dealer with a handful of reps.
Where a guide gives a period or a date, it names the paragraph it came from, so you can check it against the rule yourself. To turn those periods and dates into your own firm's calendar, use the free tools; to choose the archive, CRM or compliance platform that will hold the records, read the software comparisons.
- SEC Rule 17a-4 and WORM storage, explainedWhat the amended Rule 17a-4(f) allows, what WORM still means, and what to ask a storage vendor.13 min read
- Regulation S-P for small advisers and broker-dealersThe customer-record safeguards Regulation S-P sets for small advisers and broker-dealers, and what the amendments changed.15 min read
- FINRA Rule 4511: books and records for broker-dealersFINRA's general records rule and how it points a broker-dealer to SEC Rules 17a-3 and 17a-4.12 min read
- Rule 204-2: the adviser books and records ruleWhich records an adviser keeps under Rule 204-2, for how long, and how electronic storage works.12 min read
- FINRA Rule 3110: supervision for small firmsSupervisory systems, written procedures, correspondence review and internal inspections for a small firm.14 min read
- The SEC Marketing Rule for small advisersThe Marketing Rule's general prohibitions, testimonials, endorsements, third-party ratings and performance, in plain language.15 min read
- Off-channel communications: what the SEC cases mean for small firmsThe SEC's off-channel recordkeeping cases read for a small adviser or broker-dealer, and what a policy must cover.14 min read
- FINRA Rule 2210 and social media for small firmsHow FINRA's communications rule applies to the social media posts of a small firm and its reps.13 min read
- RIA compliance: what a small adviser must runThe program, the records, the filings and the exams a small adviser runs, on one page.13 min read
- FINRA Rule 2111: suitability for small broker-dealersWhat the suitability rule asks, how it sits beside Reg BI, and the records that show a recommendation was suitable.15 min read
- FINRA compliance for small broker-dealersThe supervision, records, reporting and filings a small FINRA member firm runs each year.13 min read
- FINRA Rule 4530: reporting requirementsWhat a small broker-dealer must report to FINRA under Rule 4530, when, and the records behind it.12 min read
- What is Form ADV?Form ADV's parts, who files each one, and what Part 1 asks item by item.13 min read
- Form ADV Part 2A brochure and Part 2B supplementWhat the brochure and the brochure supplement must cover and when they go to clients.12 min read
- How to start an RIA: the compliance pathSEC or state registration, the compliance program, records and the tech stack a new adviser needs on day one.13 min read
- Rule 206(4)-7: the compliance program ruleThe rule's three duties (written policies, an annual review, a chief compliance officer) and how small firms meet them.13 min read
- The investment adviser code of ethicsRule 204A-1 in plain language and the code-of-ethics records Rule 204-2 says to keep.13 min read
- FINRA Rule 3310: AML programs for small broker-dealersWhat FINRA's anti-money-laundering program rule asks of a small broker-dealer.13 min read
- Outsourced CCO: when a small RIA should hire oneThe chief compliance officer duty under Rule 206(4)-7 and when an outsourced CCO makes sense for a small adviser.12 min read
- Trade surveillance for small firms, explainedWhat trade surveillance covers, what FINRA's supervision rule expects, and when a small firm needs a tool.12 min read