RegComp Financial, a specialized compliance consulting firm, announced in a press release its expansion into Florida in efforts to better service lower and middle-market investment advisers, private funds, and broker dealers in the Southeast region of the country.
The impact of the pandemic on the securities market gave rise to a host of regulatory risks for market participants, creating challenges for in-house compliance officers and general counsel staff. «From remote work arrangements to cybersecurity concerns and several material new rule adoptions governing investment advisers, there is a significant increase in the need for compliance expertise and guidance to augment a firm’s ability to lower the risk of being in the regulatory spotlight and resolve compliance challenges more efficiently», says RegComp.
RegComp’s review of the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) orders covering the first quarter of 2021 has revealed enforcement activity totaling nearly 2.5 million dollars in penalties. These range censures, disgorgement, prejudgment interest, and civil penalties, as well as orders requiring executives to provide notice of the SEC’s order to advisory clients. Similarly, state regulators continued to institute enforcement actions, a situation which the firm believes to be especially true in the Southeast.
Identifying an opportunity to assist prospective clients maintain market integrity, reduce «and perhaps, entirely avoid penalties», RegComp also launched a new service offering that covers the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Rulebook for Capital Acquisition Brokers (CAB). In their view, understanding key issues that can give rise to regulatory scrutiny in the CAB space allows them to continue its focus of offering a comprehensive set of regulatory compliance, accounting and monitoring services intended to help its clients.
«With an unwavering commitment to meeting our clients’ regulatory compliance needs, we hope the expansion and new service offering allows us to further establish ourselves as leaders in the regulatory compliance space as we continue to find innovative solutions to meet the rapidly changing market needs,» said Gigi Thompson, Chief Operating Officer.
In his opinion, most regulators believe that the most important aspect of compliance at a firm is simply a series of elaborate systems and procedures but «what is most important is the permeation throughout the firm of a ‘compliance culture».