News & Events –

Bates Group, a leading provider of custom compliance support and services for RIAs, has completed the acquisition of select client engagements from D Nauss and Associates LLC, founded by industry veteran Donna Nauss in 2009. This strategic acquisition underscores Bates Group’s dedication to growth and continued commitment to the RIA compliance marketplace.

Meet Bates Compliance leaders at the 2024 IAA Investment Advisor Compliance Conference, March 6-8, 2024 in Washington, D.C. Managing Direcctor Kurt Wachholz is a featured speaker.

2023 was an interesting year in FINRA dispute resolution. While customer filings dipped to a near-decade low, intra-industry cases grew 50% year-over-year. Despite the shift, core dispute themes remained stable, with top customer-member controversies and security types holding steady. We take a look at the entire year's statistics and trends in this new report.

Bates is a proud sponsor of the 2024 IBDC/RIAC Annual Risk Management Conference, March 4-6, 2024 in San Diego, California. Bates cybersecurity expert Patrick Cox will be speaking.

As a leading provider of financial consulting services, Bates Group has extensive experience defending allegations of transaction fraud on brokerage or bank accounts through expert analysis and testimony, as well as assisting financial institutions in preventing and deterring transaction fraud. 

Attending ETH in Denver? Bates Managing Consultant John Ashley is available meet with you to discuss the top issues and concerns for the blockchain community.

FinCEN issued a NPRM on Tuesday requiring SEC-registered IAs and ERAs to apply AML/CFT requirements pursuant to the Bank Secrecy Act, including implementing risk-based AML/CFT programs, SARs reporting, and recordkeeping requirements.

Meet Bates Compliance Director Matt Summers at the NMLS 2024 Annual Conference & Training, February 13, 2024 – February 16, 2024 in San Antonio, TX. This virtual and in-person event will address the latest in NMLS user and regulatory compliance issues.

This week is Identity Theft Awareness week, sponsored by the FTC. An increasingly harmful form of ID Theft is Account Takeover, which institutions can help prevent by requiring additional authentication elements to access accounts.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Division of Examinations publishes its examination priorities report annually to provide insights into its risk-based approach, including the areas it believes present potential risks to investors and the integrity of the U.S. capital markets. Reviewing their roadmap offers vital insights for firms. See our annual chart tracking the Division's changing priorities.

Bates Compliance Managing Director Brandi Reynolds offers her insights into the State of Financial Crimes 2024 report published by ComplyAdvantage. Specifically, the survey findings pertaining to Artificial Intelligence-based compliance solutions and the risks these tools can pose for the financial industry professionals who use them.

FINRA has published its 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report, formerly known as the Report on FINRA’s Examination and Risk Monitoring Program. Stay tuned for our annual chart and commentary on the reformatted 2024 Report and how its findings may impact your legal, regulatory and compliance matters.

NASAA has published a Comment Letter to the DOL Regarding Retirement Security Rule: Definition of an Investment Advice Fiduciary.

Bates Compliance Managing Director Rhonda Davis will be peaking on this insightful webinar on December 12, 2023. Sponsored by InvestorCOM

Bates Expert Rob Ayers will be speaking at the Decmber 6, 2024 CrossTech Virtual Roundtable (VRT) titled "FedNow's Instant Effect: Cross-Border Payment Dynamics."

The CFPB has recently proposed a new rule to define the market for general-use digital consumer payment applications. The proposed market would cover providers of funds transfer and wallet functionalities through digital applications for consumers’ general use in making person-to-person payments for personal, family, or household purposes. Larger participants of this market would be subject to the CFPB’s supervisory authority under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).