The cost of your firm’s Compliance, Legal, Operations, and Sales personnel and attendant technology and outside vendor support, depending upon the size of your registered investment adviser and the number of IARs and support staff you have, can be extremely costly.
The ASCHCO Consulting Group can assist you in managing those costs effectively and efficiently while helping you to meet and satisfy the compliance and risk management responsibilities and requirements. Here are some of the types of products and services we offer:
GENERAL TYPES OF INVESTMENT ADVISER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
- Federal and State Registration and Licensing
- Operational and Regulatory Risk Analysis
- Compliance Program Design and Implementation
- Development and Drafting of Policies and Procedures
- Compliance Program Review and Testing
- General and Customized Compliance Support
- Focus on Small Firm Investment Advisers
- Interfacing with Federal and state regulators and SROs
- Designing, Implementing, and Conducting a relevant Examination Program
- Developing and updating Business Continuity Plans and Succession Planning strategies
- Solicitation and Marketing Program Review
- Mergers and Acquisitions Support
SPECIFIC TYPES OF INVESTMENT ADVISER PRODUCTS AND SERVICES:
Federal and State Registration and Licensing
- Prepare draft of all registration materials for client review
- Conduct or oversee client conduct of online and other registration processes
- Conduct or oversee annual and special updating of registration processes
Operational and Regulatory Risk Analysis
- Inventory areas of client operational and regulatory risk
- Analyze and prioritize identified areas of operational and regulatory risk
- Perform annual review of client business to update and revise inventory, analysis and prioritization of operational and regulatory risk
Compliance Program Design and Implementation
- Develop a blueprint to address identified areas of operational and regulatory risk
- Develop a program to assist client staff to recognize changes in firm business or business practices that have operational risk and regulatory aspects
- Assist client staff with ongoing updates and modifications of program design
Development and Drafting of Policies and Procedures
- Prepare a comprehensive set of both policies and implementing procedures tailored to the client firm that fulfill the mandates of the compliance plan blueprint
- Prepare a comprehensive set of policies and procedures to assist the Chief Compliance Officer in the conduct of his/her oversight responsibilities
- Prepare a comprehensive set of internal control points for firm management to permit assessment of the compliance program generally and the Chief Compliance Officer specifically
Compliance Program Review and Testing
- Conduct independent “mock audit” of client compliance program
- Assist Chief Compliance Officer in conducting Rule 206 (4)-7 annual reviews
General and Customized Compliance Support
- Analyze the unique needs of individual and small firm advisers and tailor a compliance program to meet those needs
- Review and provide reports of relevant rulemaking and enforcement activity
- Analyze regulatory and industry developments, including emerging best practices
- Provide ongoing, real-time support for the firm’s staff
- Conduct and document staff training
- Coordinate and oversee supplemental temporary staffing to address special situations, e.g. regulatory inspections
- Review and provide reports of relevant rulemaking and enforcement activity
- Analyze regulatory and industry developments, including emerging best practices
- Provide independent review and support of the Chief Compliance Officer’s performance
Focus on Small Firm Investment Advisers
- Analyze the unique needs of individual and small firm registered investment advisers and investment adviser representatives and tailor a compliance program and business plan to meet their needs
Designing, Implementing, and Conducting an applicable and relevant Examination Program
- Develop customized Examination Modules
- Conduct on-site and remote home office and branch office examinations
- Perform mock regulatory audits
Solicitation and Marketing Program Review
- Analyze client internal and external marketing, sales and capital introduction programs
- Review performance presentation information
- Review solicitation, marketing and client reporting materials
- Assist and review responses to Requests for Proposals and Due Diligence Questionnaires
Mergers and Acquisitions Support
- Conduct due diligence review of operational and regulatory risk postures of acquisition candidates
- Develop plan for post-acquisition compliance program
- Assist in implementation of post-acquisition compliance program
The ASCHCO Consulting Group is a team of experienced professionals — former senior regulators and senior legal, compliance, and operations officers — who specialize in the constantly changing and highly regulated world of Compliance and Operational Risk Management across the financial services industry. We utilize our extensive experience in both the public and private sectors to deliver expert guidance and assistance tailored to our clients’ needs and without the exorbitant fees or bureaucracy of the large consulting firms.
We have offices in the New York metropolitan area and Florida and Consultants located throughout the United States. Please contact us, either via email (info@aschcoconsulting.com) or telephone (516.578.8365) for a free consultation and to learn more about the array of traditional and innovative compliance, regulatory, and risk management products and consulting services we offer.