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September 22, 2020

Releasing our U.S. House Candidate Research Report

Yesterday, we released our second research report to help compliance teams navigate political contribution regulatory compliance. Download our 2020 Candidate Research Report on U.S. House Candidates here!

Our team of analysts compiled various research memos that provide background on the state and locally elected officials running for Federal office in 2020. The release of our US House report follows a similar Senate report released last month.

With election 2020 under way, we wanted to share this new resource that contains research on the thousands of US House candidates across all 50 states. The report lists the current elected offices each candidate holds (or their profession), and also notes some potentially relevant pension funds that could represent pay-to-play conflicts.

If you have any questions or want to schedule a demo with our team, feel free to reach out to solutions@illumis.com!
Why real-time data is essential to helping your investment firm avoid violating pay-to-play regulations, SEC rule 206(4)-5

Political contributions made by firm employees pose a significant threat to investment advisory firms. And even firms with the best compliance teams can be at risk of violating pay-to-play regulations, like the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rule 206(4)-5, given the complexity of the rules and the myriad of regulations to which firms must comply.

Because of this, investment firms must arm themselves with the access to and support of real-time data, which can help identify potential violations and anomalies in the political donation process.

By leveraging real-time data, investment firms can quickly detect suspicious or unauthorized activities and take prompt action to prevent pay-to-play violations.

Beyond SEC Rule 206(4)-5: A look at state and local political contributions compliance regulations

SEC Rule 206(4)-5 is arguably the most well known regulation regarding political contributions compliance or pay-to-play compliance. However, it certainly isn’t the only regulation to which firms must comply.

In fact, beyond federal regulations, firms which take part in government contracted work must contend with numerous and varied state and local regulations as well. Such regulations present unique challenges because of the various requirements within each, which should they be neglected, can cause significant financial and reputational damage.

Aligning pay-to-play rule 206(4)-5 compliance practices with your investment firm’s regulatory compliance program

While it would be almost too easy to treat the Securities and Exchange Commissions’ (SEC) pay-to-play rule 206(4)-5 as a special requirement implemented only during election years, that mistake can cause serious, firm-wide damages. In fact, for investment firms, establishing a compliance program which actively and regularly incorporates compliance with the SEC pay-to-play rule is essential to avoiding fines, sanctions, lockout periods, loss of revenue and a damaged reputation.