In December 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission's
Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) published
its fifth and last risk alert of 2018 on the topic of electronic
messaging by personnel of registered investment advisers. In
the alert, OCIE focuses its attention on the growing use by
advisory personnel of various types of electronic messaging for
business-related communications and seeks to provide suggestions to
advisory firms on ways firms can continue to meet their regulatory
requirements, notwithstanding this new challenge.
Background
According to OCIE, the risk alert was occasioned by the
increasing use of social media, texting, and other types of
electronic messaging apps by investment advisers and their
representatives. OCIE cautioned that advisers should be aware
of the regulatory implications of the pervasive use of mobile and
personally owned devices for business purposes. According to
OCIE, the use of electronic messaging by
