Nearly 7 out of 10 advisory firms are back in the office either full time or on hybrid schedules, and advisors are still nervous about the SEC’s new marketing rule.
So suggest the results of the “2023 Investment Management Compliance Testing Survey” released this month by the Investment Adviser Association and the consultants ACA Group and Yuter Compliance Consulting. The poll had compliance professionals at 581 advisory firms answering questions throughout May on a wide range of wealth management topics.
Among the respondents, slightly more than 67% said that they are back to being in the office either full time or on a hybrid schedule following the widespread adoption of remote work in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. By contrast, only 4% said they have no plans to return to the office.
Ryan Salah, a partner and financial advisor at Capital Financial Partners in Towson, Maryland, said he and his four colleagues returned to the office as quickly as they could in late 2020. Part of the reason was that moving back made it easier to comply with regulations on record keeping and tracking official communications.
But mostly he and his colleagues missed the benefits of working together in close proximity.
“When you are not within walking distance of each other, certain things start to dissipate,” Salah said. “And that goes for the camaraderie aspect of it. We felt more comfortable being all together.”
In addition to remote work, firms had concerns surrounding best execution, the SEC’s new marketing rule and compliance issues. Scroll down our slideshow to see more.