With relief from FINRA allowing for the remote inspection of broker-dealers’ offices set to expire December 31, Tom Potter was quoted in an August 31, 2021 article from IGNITES discussing the industry’s outlook. Under Rule 3110, FINRA member firms are required to submit to on-site inspections of their offices, which created obvious obstacles during the pandemic, and industry trade groups are lobbying for the allowance for remote inspections to be extended.

Potter discussed the ability of firms to transition to remote inspections and its dependence on the state of their technology. “It’s a matter of using these new tools effectively to enable supervision that is going to be more continuous and more thorough than sending a compliance officer in a rental car or a plan to walk around a brick-and-mortar building once every few years,” Potter said. He added that FINRA’s focus on the issue of on-site vs. remote office inspections comes amid its broader rule review, through which it aims to root out those rules that are no longer needed.

Subscribers may access the full article here.

About IGNITES 

Ignites is the preeminent source for news about the mutual fund industry. Each day Ignites delivers must-read competitive intelligence to more than 89,000 leaders across the world of mutual funds.

Ignites is known and appreciated for its unique format which mixes world-class original reporting with summaries of relevant stories taken from other publications. Whether it's the most important regulatory issues confronting your business or the latest fund launches, Ignites delivers critical industry news like no other publication in the field can.

Ignites reports on industry news within the following market segments:

• Mutual Funds
• Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
• Variable Annuities
• Retirement Plans (401(k), etc.)
• 529 Plans

Ignites coverage focuses on distribution, marketing, new products, regulatory and compliance, legal cases, people moves, C-suite and strategy, tech and operations and much more.

Ignites Research, a dedicated section of Ignites, helps asset management firms address strategic issues with superior business intelligence. Using proprietary surveys, interviews and analysis of third-party data, our specialized reports provide insights into important strategic issues facing asset management firms, yielding valuable information and actionable recommendations.