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November 8, 2022

COMPLYSCI, RIA IN A BOX, NRS AND ILLUMIS TO OPERATE AS COMPLY

New parent brand and integrated leadership team clarifies corporate structure to enhance strategic growth and expand customer offerings

New York, Nov. 8, 2022 – illumis, the leading provider of political contribution verification technology, today announced the creation of parent brand COMPLY. The launch of COMPLY marks the official unification of ComplySci, RIA in a Box, National Regulatory Services (NRS) and illumis under one corporate umbrella with an integrated senior leadership team to solidify its position as the leading compliance solutions provider for the financial services sector.

Organizing ComplySci, RIA in a Box, NRS and illumis under the COMPLY brand will accelerate the organization’s strategic growth initiative, while also better serving the industry with a holistic point of view and expanded offerings. As a result, customers will also be able to leverage the breadth of solutions and expertise from all four businesses and take full advantage of COMPLY’s technology, consulting and education compliance solutions.

COMPLY’s portfolio of companies will continue to market their solutions and offerings under their individual brand names. Customers across the financial services industry, including registered investment advisers, private equity firms and hedge funds, will have greater access to the firms’ wide range of solutions with customizable choices in compliance software, consulting and education resources. The unified company will drive increased integration across its brands with plans to further expand product capabilities, improve client experience and interoperability, and introduce new solutions in 2023 to address dynamic regulatory environments.

"We are incredibly excited to announce the formation of our parent brand, COMPLY," said COMPLY Chief Executive Officer Amy Kadomatsu. "By officially joining our teams under a single banner and unifying our leadership team, we have affirmed our focus on being the champion for compliance professionals across the financial services industry. Even as each business continues to operate under its well-respected brand, our customers and our organization will see tremendous benefits as we unlock the full power of the combined knowledge and expertise within each of our companies."

John Gebauer named chief regulatory officer

As part of this change, COMPLY announced the promotion of John Gebauer to chief regulatory officer. Mr. Gebauer had previously served as the president of NRS, which was acquired by ComplySci in 2021, for the last 16 years. In his new position, he will play a strategic role in shaping the development of the firm’s products and services to support compliance professionals in today’s dynamic regulatory environment.

"I am incredibly honored for the opportunity to continue to support the expansion of the COMPLY portfolio of firms," said Mr. Gebauer. "We are continuing to grow at an unprecedented rate and further establish ourselves as the leader in compliance technology, consulting and education solutions. Providing firms with innovative and flexible solutions has become increasingly important as compliance teams are expected to meet an ever-growing number of regulatory requirements and answer calls for transparency by investors and clients in an ever-changing landscape."

About COMPLY

At COMPLY, we pride ourselves on being the champion for compliance professionals. Merging technology, consulting and education, we help clients navigate the ever-changing regulatory environment. Our portfolio of firms includes ComplySci, RIA in a Box, National Regulatory Service (NRS) and illumis, whose more than 7,000 clients include some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Clients throughout our portfolio of firms enjoy access to our full suite of industry-leading governance, risk and compliance (GRC) consulting, technology, managed services, analytics and outsourcing solutions.

Learn more at COMPLY.com.

About illumis
illumis, a COMPLY company, is the leading political contribution monitoring and pay-to-play compliance solutions. Our innovative platform technology provides clients with access to real-time intelligence and powerful research to help them unlock the power of their data to help reduce risk, increase transparency and strengthen their firm’s overall compliance program.

illumis is part of the COMPLY portfolio of firms, which includes ComplySci, RIA in a Box, NRS and illumis. Learn more at illumis.com.

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ComplySci and illumis: Two regulatory compliance solutions joining together to benefit clients’ regulatory needs

In November of 2021, ComplySci announced the acquisition of illumis, a premier data aggregator and technology provider whose solutions are used by financial services firms to identify and mitigate risk from employee political contributions. While the initial acquisition saw the firms operating as two independent organizations, we are thrilled to announce the merging of the illumis and ComplySci brands. With this initiative, we aim to arm our clients with a more comprehensive solution to mitigating compliance risk, which includes the increased risk associated with employee political contributions.

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.