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June 20, 2019

Introducing Vote Analysis

Today we’re launching the first iteration of illumis’ Vote Analysis, a new tool to help with the search and analysis of roll call votes in Congress and at the state-level in each of the 50 state legislatures across the country.

Vote Analysis quickly identifies roll call votes that stand out as abnormal and may warrant further investigation. A lot of existing tools can look up a single vote on a single bill, but Vote Analysis searches across a legislator’s voting history to find instances when a vote stood out.

It might be a vote when a legislator broke from their party…

…or it might be a deciding vote on a close bill.

Or it could be a vote that was skipped completely.

Vote Analysis can also identify when a state or federal official voted with or against another legislator and pick out when a lawmaker was the only person to vote a certain way.

Often times, abnormal or odd votes can tie in with other information available on illumis. A yes vote might coincide with a campaign donation or activity reported by a lobbyist. Or an odd vote a few years ago may have new significance in light of recent adverse events. The context surrounding these votes can have huge implications and Vote Analysis makes it easy to quickly find the roll calls that might matter most.

Vote Analysis is now available as part of illumis’ Search platform. You can get in touch with solutions@illumis.com to request a demo or to learn more.

Please Note: This post was updated in June 2020 to reflect our company’s new name: illumis
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.