Director of Compliance
Independent Financial Partners
Location: Tampa, FL (Preferred)
Independent Financial Partners (“IFP”) is a privately-held, family-owned SEC Registered Investment Adviser (“RIA”) firm and Broker/Dealer (BD”) based in Tampa, Florida. IFP is focused on delivering personalized, concierge-level service to its 250 Financial Professionals nationwide who specialize in wealth management and retirement plan consulting. IFP’s mission is to improve the lives of our advisors and their clients by providing the tools and support needed to maintain and grow their practices. IFP has a multi-custodian platform (Pershing, Schwab/TD, Fidelity and SEI) and actively seeks to develop its own proprietary system to help manage its business. Its AUM is presently about $10 billion. You are encouraged to review our Web Site at www.ifspartners.com.
Director of Compliance
• Reports to CCO/Specialist Counsel
• Provides value-adding advice and customer service, while exercising the strength necessary to ensure compliance with applicable regulations and policies.
• Builds and maintains a broad knowledge base of the securities industry (regulatory, markets, products, processes, and operational methodologies).
• Takes lead on various projects to continue to build & enhance our Control Framework.
• Assists in developing processes and procedures to designed to achieve effective compliance/supervision per the applicable laws, regulations and rule as promulgated by FINRA, SEC, FINCEN, State & other regulators.
• Lead the regulatory investigation and filings process (e.g., customer complaints, Securities Exchange Act Filings such as 13F/H and response to FINRA/SEC examinations), interfacing with regulators and responding to their needs, leveraging internal resources and staff as may be appropriate.
• Add value with our Investment Adviser document and filings, including, but not limited to, our ADV1, ADV 2A, Wrap Brochure & Form CRS.
• Fielding and responding to Rep questions and issues.
• Training Reps and staff on Compliance requirements, providing various alternatives of action, and explaining specifics of each possible avenue.
• Providing perspectives on the risks and how to manage risks within the confines of the Firm’s “Risk Appetite”.
• Manage the Marketing and Licensing & Registration function.
• Help build workflows across the organization to enhance our business process & control framework.
• Develop new rules and processes for our Supervision Unit & the systems that support those functions.
• Conduct forensic tests of Reps and their offices regarding various compliance matters.
• Review and work towards closing out any finding made by our Branch Office Examiner.
• Work with our Reps in terms of Code of Ethics matters.
• Manage the Rep Attestations.
• Evaluates possible solutions to complex problems, prioritizing, and refining those solutions.
• Interpreting, applying, and recommending changes to organizational policies and procedures.
• Serve a 2nd Line of Defense/validation role over the Transaction and Account Supervisors.
• While not primary for conducting supervision, being conversant on the following is needed:
i. Requirements for customer onboarding to ensure compliance with all applicable regulations and requirements to accept investment accounts.
ii. Know Your Customer (“KYC”) regulations, with experience in assessing data required to open and enable an account for ongoing investment services.
iii. Sales practice and asset allocation assessment in light of Regulation Best Interest.
iv. Suitability/Best Interest considerations in light of our open architecture platform in terms of the products offered.
v. Analysis of complex suitability reviews to detect trends, trading patterns, and rules violations, to ensure adherence to securities industry regulations.
vi. Evaluate our reporting/exception reporting.
• Other duties as assigned.
Skills, Experience and Qualifications:
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience
• 3 - 10 years of experience in compliance and/or operations role with a B/D and/or RIA
• FINRA Series 7 & 24. Have or willing to pursue 53 and 4.
• Series 65 is a plus.
• AML experience is a plus, as would be serving as the BSA Reporting Officer.
• Knowledge of Investment Advisers Act, FINRA, SEC, state securities rules and regulations
• Detail-Oriented, organized and works well with a busy, demanding schedule.
Interested candidates should submit a resume, along with salary expectations, via email to keith.kessel@ifpartners.com. Also, if you would only entertain an offer to work fully remote, please specify that too. Candidates able to work from the Tampa Home Office are preferred, but others will be considered. Travel not required in the ordinary course of the role.