You’ve worked hard to build your practice and we’re here to help you protect it. We are dedicated to supporting your business while maintaining adherence to the regulatory framework. We provide straightforward processes and instructions on how to operate in a compliant environment so you can keep your clients first.

Our ongoing compliance services allow independent financial advisors to consider us an extension of their firm, focused on one thing: compliance. With over a combined 50 years of independent and wirehouse experience, GVA has an extensive background in the regulatory space. Behind its team of registered staff, GVA has built a sustainable platform designed for its advisors to leverage all of their compliance needs.

Our main focus is to help financial advisors feel confident that they have access to a dedicated team of professionals focused on ensuring continuous and proactive monitoring of their business.

Please email compliance@greatvalleyadvisors.com with any questions.

Client Engagement Agreement Version 10

GVA has updated its CEA.The updated CEA is consolidating the four versions currently in use to help simplify the process.

Important Information

  • You do not need to “re-paper” any current CEA’s that are in good order and on the system.
  • The current CEA V9 will be accepted though end of November.
  • The CEA V10 will be required 12.1.24
  • Promoter section – we have added a box to mark if the account is part of the promoter program. This ensures proper payout on the fees thru AdvisorBob.
  • Fee section has been updated to accommodate all types of billing.

To ensure the most recent versions of GVA’s Compliance documents (Form CRS, ADV Part 2A, and Privacy Policy) are accessible on your website, please update your links to one main link here: https://www.greatvalleyadvisors.com/whatwedo/.

This page also includes GVA’s Partnership brochure which is a great informational piece to share with clients and prospects. We recommend adding this link to “Great Valley Advisor Group” located within the page’s disclosure. For example, “Investment advice is offered through Great Valley Advisor Group, a Registered Investment Advisor.”

As a reminder, you are required to attend at least one live Quarterly GVA Compliance Meeting per year. The other three meetings can either be attended live or viewed from the recording links provided here after each meeting. Our annual questionnaire requires attestation to the attendance requirements as well as your understanding of all four compliance trainings.

  • SEC
  • FINRA
  • Checklist for LPL Branch Exams – Please make sure policies and procedures are in place and are being followed for all remediation items coming from previous exams. For more information, you can search “Branch Exam Readiness” in the Resource Center of ClientWorks
  • MyRepChat – is LPL’s approved provider giving Hybrid Advisors the ability to text your clients compliantly. For more information, please search MyRepChat in the Resource Center of ClientWorks and if you wish, you can Sign-Up Here.
  • Cybersecurity Checklist – This checklist from FINRA.org will help you establish a cybersecurity program to protect your clients and their data. You can also review the FINRA Cybersecurity page and the SEC Cybersecurity page for more information

For those using ClientWorks eSignature, please make sure to use the following information below for the GVA Compliance Name:

FAQs

Why did GVA hire a compliance consultant?

A. Working with the right compliance consultant will help mitigate risk. Regulators look to see that firms take compliance seriously. Having a structured compliance program and training for all members of the firm is essential. Foreside Compliance helps GVA keep these programs current with ever-changing regulations.

What does Foreside Compliance Services do for GVA?

A. GVA leverages Foreside Compliance to augment the services provided by our internal team of professionals. Foreside Compliance helps our experienced team stay on top of the latest investment advisor compliance developments and integrate them into our policies, procedures, and training.

What makes GVA’s Compliance Program different than some other RIAs?

A. Our compliance team has been working in the compliance and financial industry since the 1980s. The experience they bring from the legal, compliance, and project management perspectives have allowed GVA to form a robust compliance program. That experience, combined with our Foreside Compliance partnership, keeps our program, manuals, and training up-to-date with current regulations and requirements so we can help our advisors protect their business.

How does GVA help its advisors secure their electronic information?

A. GVA takes cybersecurity very seriously. GVA has a branch office security policy for our advisors to follow, and we have partnered with Align Managed Services to provide cybersecurity services to our advisors. We have also made the SecureOffice platform available to all our advisors. Click here to learn more

How do IARs keep abreast of GVA and industry compliance requirements?

A. Together with advice from Foreside Compliance, GVA provides various tools to advisors. These are all easily accessible online and include items such as GVA’s Compliance and Procedures Manual, Code of Ethics, Privacy Policy, Form ADV, and Form CRS. In addition, GVA in conjunction with Foreside Compliance provides quarterly compliance training meetings for the entire team of IARs.

What other services does the compliance team provide?

A. Our team performs reviews of new accounts and documents, marketing materials, outside business activities, trade reviews, outside accounts, correspondence, and social media, among others. We have added Smarsh to our compliance overview for email capture and archive. In addition, GVA will send the required annual Forms ADV and CRS mailing to your clients for you.

Does GVA provide solutions for CRM and paperless document retention?

A. Yes, we do! We systemically download all advisory accounts to our online platform. Advisors can use this program to keep client notes, generate risk tolerance questionnaires, house documents and keep track of tasks, among other benefits. Our compliance team utilizes these online systems to do a review of your accounts and business. In addition, we integrated software that is SEC 17(a)-4 compliant and can be used by our advisors for official electronic books and records.

Where can IARs get answers if they have questions after reviewing the compliance documents available online?

A. Our compliance team is available to give guidance when necessary. In addition, due to the strength of GVA, our advisors will have dedicated service teams at each of our providers.

Does GVA allow the use of third-party money managers?

A. GVA has several approved third-party managers (TPMs) our IARs may use. Each manager has gone through thorough due diligence by our team. The GVA team executes selling agreements with all TPMs that have successfully met all due diligence requirements. At least yearly, our compliance team reviews each of our approved TPMs to ensure they still meet our requirements for product selection, fees, performance, and service.

Does GVA provide training to its IARs?

A. Our commitment to compliance is key to helping our advisors protect their business. We provide quarterly training sessions, and our advisors are required to attend at least three. At these sessions, our compliance team will conduct training on recent regulatory issues as well as present best practices, updates to our program, and commonly found issues since the last meeting.

How do IARs know when GVA Compliance needs something in order to stay compliant?

A. We utilize a function of the Salesforce platform to notify our IARs of compliance items that need attention. This allows both the advisors and GVA to view open items and identify trends. This system helps drive topics we include in our quarterly training and updates our policies and procedures when necessary.

For additional questions, please review our GVA Advisor Compliance Support Brochure and contact GVA Compliance.

Don’t forget to check the weekly news alerts from “The Gatekeeper” for the latest Compliance News.

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