RIA Compliance Technology issues exam-ready recordkeeping guidance

RIA Compliance Technology has released new guidance for registered investment advisers on keeping compliance records complete, searchable and ready for SEC or state exams. The company says better organization can cut the time firms spend reconstructing policies, approvals, trade records and business communications when regulators ask for them.

Why it matters: - RIAs can have the underlying compliance work in place and still struggle during an exam if records are scattered across drives, inboxes, spreadsheets and personal devices. - Complete, searchable recordkeeping can reduce the scramble to rebuild a paper trail when the SEC or a state regulator requests documentation. - The guidance is aimed at helping small and mid-sized firms with lean compliance teams avoid preventable delays.

What happened: - RIA Compliance Technology released new guidance on Sept. 11, 2026, focused on exam-ready recordkeeping for registered investment advisers. - The guidance centers on how firms can maintain complete records and respond more efficiently to SEC and state examination requests. - Blake Bjordahl, president of RIA Compliance Technology, said, “Doing the compliance work is only half the job.” - Bjordahl said firms also need to be able to locate the right record quickly when an examiner asks.

The details: - The guidance says exam readiness depends on both retaining required records and retrieving current documentation on demand. - A firm may have policies, approvals, trade records, delivery evidence and business communications, but still fail to produce a clean record if those materials live in separate systems. - Recordkeeping gaps often develop gradually in smaller firms when a policy, its approval history and related correspondence are stored in different places. - Off-channel communications are highlighted as a common problem when a client conversation moves from an approved channel to text, social media or another platform that is not captured in the archive. - The guidance says an RIA’s obligation to retain required written business communications remains in place regardless of enforcement trends. - An exam-ready record should show that the work was done and make the supporting evidence easy to find. - A current policy is not enough if a firm cannot also produce its review history. - The guidance says firms do not need every record in one application, but they do need a dependable process that prevents information from disappearing between systems.

Between the lines: - The emphasis is shifting from simple retention to operational readiness, where a firm can produce documentation quickly and without reconstruction. - That matters because exam problems often come from organization failures, not from a lack of underlying compliance effort. - Bjordahl said consistency is the key and that firms are in a stronger position when records are maintained as work happens rather than rebuilt afterward.

What's next: - RIA Compliance Technology is steering firms to its connected recordkeeping tools, including Simple Compliance Portal, Simple Email Archive and Simple Trade Monitor. - The three products can be used separately or as a combined recordkeeping system. - The company says the guidance builds on its recent coverage of examination document requests and off-channel communication requirements. - RIA leaders can review the full guidance in The Paper Trail Regulators Expect: How RIAs Can Produce It in a Moment's Notice. - Additional information is available in Off-Channel Communications for RIAs: What the Rule Requires Regardless of Enforcement Trends. - More information is available at RIA Compliance Technology.

The bottom line: - The message is simple: RIAs need records that are not only retained, but also easy to produce fast when regulators ask.