GLBA News

Complinet and Steven Lofchie Simplify Compliance Processes With Launch of Next-Generation Compliance Solution, ‘Lofchie's Procedure Manuals’

(March 26, 2008)-- Complinet, provider of web-based dynamic compliance solutions to the financial services industry, has teamed up with Steven Lofchie, partner at the law firm of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP and the author of Lofchie’s Guide To Broker-Dealer Regulation, to deliver Lofchie’s Procedure Manuals. These are innovative compliance and supervisory procedure manuals that have been produced under the direction of Mr. Lofchie to address the needs of financial firms for procedures that are industry-standardized, comprehensive, and straightforward and that will be maintained so that they are never out of date.

Stephen Lofchie is a recognized expert in compliance procedures and regulations. His Guide to Broker-Dealer Regulation, published in 2000 and updated in electronic form on Complinet, has become a central text for regulatory guidance amongst financial services firms of all sizes.

Complinet users that purchase Lofchie’s Procedure Manuals will also be able to take full advantage of Complinet Policy Manager, an enterprise-wide content management and governance tool built specifically for the compliance profession that connects internal policies and procedures with external governing regulations and rules.

By hosting the manuals on Complinet Policy Manager, users will receive automatic, easy-to-understand email updates with respect to all rule amendments that may affect the manuals. Complinet Policy Manager will also allow users to automatically incorporate updates and revisions to the manuals, subject to their approval.

Using a unique modular approach that is built upon a broad, but open, supervisory structure, the manuals can be easily customized and integrated within a firm’s existing policies and procedures. As a result, the manuals can be used by a range of firms that need procedures, from start-ups that need comprehensive procedures to established firms that want to supplement existing procedures or to validate existing procedures against up-to-date, standardized and comprehensive practices.

The initial manuals are targeted at U.S. broker-dealers, and include the General Compliance and Supervisory Policies and Procedures Manual and the Sales Practice Compliance and Supervisory Policies and Procedures Manual. Each manual covers relevant SEC, NASD and MSRB rules, including key NASD supervisory mandates under Rules 3010, 3012, and 3013. Other available manuals cover Rule 15a-6, options, securities lending and research. Manuals that address additional broker-dealer activities will follow.

Paul Johns, CMO for Complinet said, “We specialize in developing technology that helps compliance professionals connect their internal policies with government and agency regulations. Lofchie’s Procedure Manuals will help our U.S. customers eliminate discrepancies between their systems and always-evolving regulatory developments and allow them to focus more on their internal efforts and day-to-day operations, thereby improving overall risk management efforts, and reducing costs.”

Chris Pilling, CEO for Complinet said, “Working with a legal visionary such as Steven Lofchie has brought a new level of content to our compliance offering. This has the potential to become the industry standard and a new benchmark for how firms manage policy.”

An additional manual is to be launched for commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors to institutional funds, and comprehensive manuals and codes of ethics for institutional U.S. and U.K. investment advisers will be published later this year.

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