TCD News

David Peters joins The Compliance Department Inc.

David Peters a native of El Paso, Texas and most recently a resident of Portland, Oregon has joined the home office staff of The Compliance Department Inc. and will be relocating to Centennial, Colorado.  Most recently, David was the Compliance Officer of the Private Consulting Group Inc. a Portland based broker-dealer with representatives and branch offices nationwide.  David holds an MBA and the Certified Financial Planner designation as well as the Series 7, 24, 53 and 65 securities licenses.  In making the announcement, Chet Hebert, President stated, “David has the experience knowledge and skill that make him an ideal addition to our consulting team."

John Simmers joins The Compliance Department Inc.

Chet Hebert, CEO of The Compliance Department Inc is proud to announce that John Simmers has joined the executive team of the nationwide compliance consulting firm as Senior Vice President and Director of Risk Management Product Development.

In making the announcement, Hebert stated, “We are excited to have a person of John’s caliber join our executive team.  John’s experience and knowledge of our industry will lend itself well to our efforts at developing compliance products that are practical, efficient and beneficial to meeting the many and varied compliance issues we face.”

Simmers stated, “The Compliance Department has set itself apart from the competition by developing advanced risk management tools that allow broker-dealers and investment advisors to meet their regulatory requirements in efficient and cost effective ways.  I am excited to join a company devoted to serving the industry.”

John's vast experience and knowledge of the industry earned him the respect of his peers as evidenced by the many prominent positions held including his membership on the FINRA Board of Governors and past Chairman of the Financial Services Institute (FSI).  John recently voluntarily resigned his chairmanship and CEO positions with ING Advisors Network and their four related broker dealers as well as Chairman of The ING National Trust and all retail insurance agencies affiliated with the distribution of life and health insurance products.  The ING Advisor Network consistently ranks among the top broker dealers in the country with revenues exceeding a billion dollars and where both operations and technology platforms were industry leading departments.

John’s experiences include both the regulatory and industry sides of financial services.  John began his career in 1974 as an NASD (nka FINRA) examiner and rose to supervisor.  In 1984 John co-founded and was Executive VP, COO and CCO of Financial Network Investment Corporation; now a member of the ING broker-dealer network.  John has been a Board member of NAVA - The National Association of Variable Annuities; Founding member and past Chairperson of The California Association of Independent Broker Dealers where served on numerous committees; past Member of SIFMA and SIA where he served on various committees; and past member of The Financial Planning Association where he served and chaired various committees.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority

The controversial merger of NASD Regulation and NYSE Regulation
has been completed and resulted in the creation of the Financial industry Regulatory Authority or FINRA. Over the next several months, we can expect to see various rule proposals for aligning the rule books of the two former regulators as well as the election of new members to the Board of Governors under the amended by-laws.

Conduct Rule 3012

Our recent experiences in assisting clients with regulatory examination filings clearly indicates that FINRA has certain expectations of member firms when it comes to Rule 3012 and its companion Rule 3013.

Firms should be conducting testing and verification of the procedures required under Rule 3010 – Written Supervisory Procedures. Firms should be designing and implementing procedures specific to its activities under Rule 3012 – what, how, and who will test and verify your firm’s supervisory procedures. In addition, firms are required to document the testing and verification carried out.

It is our recommendation that firms begin the process with the WSP Checklist. This allows the firm to determine that procedures do exist for each area the firm is involved. From the WSP Checklist, then tests may be designed to accomplish the requirements of Rule 3012.

Firms should not wait until the days before their certification anniversary to begin the process. It should be an ongoing process that constantly identifies any weaknesses in the firms procedures.

The Compliance Department Inc. has assisted numerous firms with the Certification process. Give us a call to discuss assistance your firm may need.