Broker-Dealers

  • Compliance Program Design & Restructuring.  MCS will mitigate your regulatory risks by designing and/or restructuring a compliance program that fits your business based on an independent risk assessment, gathering an inventory of your compliance obligations, and conducting a gap analysis mapped to your written supervisory procedures. If a need is identified, MCS can recommend a properly qualified CCO.  
  • Written Supervisory Procedures.  Broker-dealers are required to maintain written supervisory procedures manual. MCS professionals will modify and/or update your written supervisory procedures to be properly tailored to your business activities based on an inventory of your compliance obligations, together with ever-changing laws, rules regulations and regulatory guidelines. 
  • Mock Regulatory Examinations.  MCS will conduct a mock regulatory examination of your broker- dealer; visit your broker-dealer’s primary and satellite offices; schedule interviews of key personnel, conduct sophisticated forensic compliance testing on books and records likely to be requested by a regulator, and prepare a written report of our findings. 
  • Marketing Activities & Advertisement Reviews.  FINRA requires retention of copies of each notice, circular and advertisement. MCS will analyze all existing and proposed advertising materials (including your company’s website) and provide written comments and suggested revisions to ensure advertising materials comply with advertising rules and standards required by FINRA and the SEC. MCS will review all marketing activities to determine if your activities are consistent with regulatory rules as well as your Written Supervisory Procedures. 
  • CRD Administration.  MCS will support regulatory filings and amendments including amendments to Form U-4 and the filing of Form U-5 for registered representatives, state notice filings and perform an annual review of broker-dealer registration renewals.
  • New Membership Applications.   MCS assists organizations in becoming approved with FINRA. We are experts at navigating the NMA process. We develop the appropriate business plans, WSPs, AML manuals, Business Continuity Plans and the remainder of the vast set of documents required for FINRA approval. Working with MCS will help your firm start generating revenue.  
  • Continuing Membership Applications.  MCS helps guide your firm through the CMA process to provide the best guidance to make the process as seamless as possible. 
  • Regulatory Filing Support. MCS will provide additional assistance as needed with preparing and submitting regulatory filing via FINRA’s Gateway system including FOCUS, SSOI and customer compliant disclosure filings.  
  • Continuing Education Program.  MCS will conduct a needs analysis and prepare a customized compliance training program and presentation for registered representatives and other associated persons and hold compliance training sessions through on-site visits and/or by webinar.  
  • Annual Review/Compliance Assessment.  MCS conducts annual compliance reviews pursuant to FINRA Rule 3120 and prepares reports for the member’s senior management that details your brokerdealer’s system of supervisory controls, a summary of the test results and any additional or amended supervisory procedures that have been created in response to those results. 
  • Regulatory Examinations.  When your broker-dealer is examined by FINRA and/or the SEC, MCS will serve as point person to the regulators by participating in interviews, corresponding in writing with regulators and assisting with document requests and deficiency letter writing. MCS will gather requested documents pursuant to regulatory examination request letters, review the documents for completeness and organize the documents in examination format for easy inspection by a regulator. 
  • Compliance Calendar.  MCS prepares customized, detailed compliance calendars listing what must be filed with whom and when. The calendars include all the steps necessary to adequately implement the compliance program. We also hold monthly compliance calls to discuss the compliance calendar. 
  • Cybersecurity.  MCS develops will write or update written supervisory procedures to keep in line with regulatory requirements for protecting personally identifiable information for your clients. MCS also conducts cybersecurity training and compliance testing.  
  • Branch Office Supervision.  MCS develops written supervisory procedures that are tailored to your broker-dealer branch offices. Also, MCS performs reviews to ensure that appropriate procedures unique to remote/ branch offices are being followed.   
  • Email & Instant Messaging Surveillance. MCS will conduct surveillance reviews of emails and instant messages in accordance with regulatory rules and guidelines. Our reviews are memorialized in compliance memoranda, which can be used to demonstrate to regulators that reviews were conducted and that any potential “red flag” communications were dealt with appropriately. 
  • FinCEN 314(a) Searches & OFAC Checks.  MCS will serve as AML officer responsible for your broker- dealers AML compliance program. We will also be responsible for the implementation of your AML program and AML manual including conducting new account opening reviews, OFAC checks and FINRA 314(a) searches. 
  • AML Audits. MCS can perform independent AML Audits to help your firm comply with the annual requirements.
  • Contract Review. MCS will review existing and new contracts to determine the impact on the broker-dealers’ compliance program and Written Supervisory Procedures and ensure adherence to contractual obligations. 
  • New Account Opening.  MCS will assist the front and back office in supporting the new account opening progress, including preparing a checklist of documents that are required to be maintained and follow up with the relevant individuals and clients to obtain all necessary documentation. 
  • Broker-Dealer Agreement Updates.  MCS can review and update agreements/contracts for your broker-dealer services to ensure that provisions required by FINRA and the SEC are included or provisions prohibited by laws, rules and regulations are excluded.
  • Regulation S-P Testing. MCS will examine your broker-dealer’s infrastructure and processes to analysis how you manage non-public customer account inform action and determine data and whether you comply with Regulation S-P and your privacy policy and prepare an audit report detailing our findings.  
  • Employee Trading. MCS will independently obtain and review personal brokerage account statements of all required individuals to determine if personal trading activities are in compliance with written supervisory procedures including any restricted/watch lists maintained by the brokerdealer.
  • Outside Business Activities/Conflict of Interest Review. MCS will conduct a conflicts of interest review and monitor all OBA activities of individuals to determine if such activities are in compliance with FINRA rules and written supervisory procedures. 
  • Undisclosed Disciplinary Action Reviews. MCS can help research and confirm whether any supervised persons have not disclosed disciplinary history. 
  • Business Continuity/Disaster Recovery Plans.  Regulators impose scrutiny on broker- dealers to ensure that client information and investments are protected in the event of a significant business disruption. MCS can develop plans to maintain effective business operations under the circumstances.