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The Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released its annual list of 2020 Examination Priorities on Jan. 7, 2020. Many of OCIE’s 2020 examination priorities, including the focus on retail investors, fraud, conflicts (and related disclosures), among others, are perennial risk areas that OCIE routinely prioritizes.…

On Jan. 7, the SEC announced the publication of the annual Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) 2020 Examination Priorities. In addition to the examination priorities themselves, the 28-page publication includes statistics related to OCIE’s 2019 examination program, touting OCIE’s completion of over 3,000 examinations covering ~15% of registered investment advisers and verification of…

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On Dec. 20, 2018, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its annual Examination Priorities for 2019 (Exam Priorities), which is available for download here. The Exam Priorities focus around six thematic areas:…

On August 7, 2017, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) issued its third National Exam Program Risk Alert of the 2017 calendar year, detailing OCIE’s findings and observations from its Cybersecurity 2 Initiative. This Cybersecurity 2 Initiative, the name for OCIE’s second round of cybersecurity examinations, builds on OCIE’s prior 2015 Cybersecurity…

On Jan. 12, 2017, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its annual Examinations Priorities for 2017 (Exam Priorities), which is available for download here.  As in past years, the Exam Priorities focus around three thematic areas, the first and the last of which…

On July 13, 2016, the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) announced its 2016 Share Class Initiative (the Initiative). The Initiative is focused on addressing the perceived risk that registered investment advisers may be providing conflicted advice to their clients when recommending investments in mutual fund share classes.  For example, OCIE staff is…

On Jan. 11, 2016, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued its annual Examinations Priorities for 2016 (Exam Priorities), which is available for download here. In the Exam Priorities, OCIE notes that its priorities focus on the same three thematic areas as in 2015…

Earlier this week, the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a new Risk Alert (available here) related to the use of outsourced chief compliance officers (CCOs) by SEC-registered investment advisers and investment companies (Registrants). The Risk Alert shares staff observations of Registrants who outsource their CCO functions to unaffiliated third-parties resulting from nearly 20 examinations under OCIE’s Outsourced CCO Initiative. The Risk Alert identified a number of key concepts that should be considered by Registrants.

First, Registrants with outsourced CCOs should review their business practices in light of the risks highlighted by the staff and the Registrant’s responsibilities under applicable compliance rules. The Risk Alert emphasizes that Registrants not only must assure that outside CCOs have the requisite knowledge and experience to carry out the responsibilities of a CCO, they should also have the authority and access to the organization needed to accomplish their duties.
Continue Reading OCIE Issues Risk Alert on Use of Outsourced Chief Compliance Officers