Q: What's the biggest misconception about RIA compliance rules?
 
A:  I think many firms believe that SEC and FINRA are the only government agencies issuing email retention policies.  In fact, over one year ago the courts have issued the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure guidelines regarding email retention.  Not complying with the FRCP rules could get RIAs into as much trouble as not complying with SEC 17a-4.

Q: Are there any big changes in compliance rules that RIAs should know about going into 2008?
 
A: I think it is always good for investment professionals to check out sites like http://www.finra.org/RulesRegulation/index.htm and http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed.shtml to see what is coming up.

Q: Is there something that every RIA can easily do today, for free, on there own, to improve their compliance situation?
 
A:  RIAs can formalize policies so when they get audited they can show a clear set of procedures that they follow to comply with regulations.


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