For the past 18 months, investment advisers have been looking toward April 5, the deadline for their first review of their compliance programs, and a number of them seem to be experiencing a fear of the unknown. “To the extent there’s any angst,” Tamara Salmon of the Investment Company Institute told Dow Jones Newswires, “it’s really knowing what the tests are supposed to consist of and what the annual reports are supposed to consist of.”
Salmon said the Securities and Exchange Commission hasn’t been particularly helpful in providing guidance, but SEC Associate Director Gene Gohlke says there is nothing to worry about. Gohlke told DNJ that advisers should view the review “like an annual physical. You go in, take some tests, and more than likely, you’ll pass.” He said the SEC was short on specific guidelines since the agency wants companies to implement tailor-made compliance programs.
