Investment Advisers, Hedge Funds, and Investment Companies

From reviews of regulatory and compliance systems, policies, and procedures, to regulator-imposed monitoring or consulting, the professionals in the Securities Practice Group help investment advisers and investment companies handle the most pressing compliance and regulatory issues facing their businesses. 

We assess enterprise-wide compliance programs as well as discrete compliance areas, such as anti-money laundering and data and customer information security.

Representative Assignments

• Promontory reviewed the compliance systems and written compliance policies and procedures of an investment adviser to multiple hedge funds.  We assessed the operational effectiveness of key compliance policies, procedures, and systems, and then made recommendations on how to improve and enhance them to fulfill regulatory requirements and meet industry best practices.  Throughout the review, our professionals provided real-time advice to the client on compliance and regulatory issues.  In addition, Promontory provided guidance to the client and its attorneys on effectively working with the SEC staff during ongoing investigations and examinations.

• Promontory served as the independent compliance consultant for one of the world’s largest financial institutions as part of its settlement of SEC enforcement actions alleging late trading and market timing through mutual fund complexes.  We conducted a comprehensive review of the fund complexes’ supervisory, compliance, and other policies and procedures designed to prevent and detect: (1) conflicts of interest, (2) breaches of fiduciary duty, (3) breaches of codes of ethics, and (4) violations of the federal securities laws.  As required by the SEC settlement, Promontory submitted reports to the SEC that outlined our findings and detailed our recommendations to strengthen the company’s supervisory, compliance, and other policies and procedures.

• Promontory was retained by a consortium of potential investors to conduct regulatory and compliance due diligence of an acquisition target in the commodities and futures industry. Promontory reviewed the target entity's regulatory, compliance, supervisory, and regulatory reporting systems. Additionally, Promontory assessed the target entity's policies and procedures and analyzed areas of potential regulatory risk. Based on the foregoing, Promontory reported its due diligence findings to the investor consortium. Our team worked collaboratively with the various participants in the potential deal including other consultants, lawyers, and investment bankers.

• A large financial services company engaged Promontory to conduct a review of the firm's policies, procedures, and practices related to the use and protection of personal and/or financial information of customers. Promontory assessed the effectiveness of the design and implementation of these policies, procedures, and related practices to determine whether, among other things, they were consistent with state and federal law, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Commission's Regulation S-P. Promontory prepared a report for the client as well as the client's regulator outlining Promontory's findings and detailing recommendations to strengthen the company's policies and procedures.

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For more information regarding the Promontory Securities Practice Group, please contact Kathleen Hamm, Managing Director, at (202) 384-1022 or khamm@promontory.com