What You Need To Be Prioritizing in 2026

Welcome to 2026! A new year means new priorities and there’s no better way to kick off this year’s little bit of Leila without diving deeper into the SEC’s 2026 list of priorities. The full list of examination priorities was released in November 2025 and can be found HERE.

Key Areas to Focus on In Your Compliance

• Strengthening Fiduciary Duty and Standards of Conduct. Advisers’ adherence to their fiduciary duty of care and loyalty remains a central priority. In 2026, the SEC will pay close attention to how firms are evaluating and mitigating conflicts of interest, especially where compensation structures, dual registrants, or product recommendations may influence advice.
• Improving the Effectiveness of Compliance Programs. The SEC will continue to assess whether advisers have compliance programs that are not only well-designed, but also enforced and operating effectively.
• Cybersecurity, Data Protection, and Operational Resilience. With cybersecurity threats on the rise, the SEC is intensifying its focus on information security. Examiners will assess whether firms have robust systems to protect client information and maintain business continuity.
• AI, Automation, and Emerging Financial Technology. As more firms adopt automated investment tools, algorithms, and AI-powered technologies, the SEC is examining whether these systems operate as advertised and remain aligned with clients’ best interests.
• AML, Sanctions Monitoring, and Regulatory Filings. Broker-dealers and certain investment companies can expect continued scrutiny of AML programs.

My Take

Many of the regulation rollouts that were postponed in 2025 will reach their compliance deadlines in 2026. None of these priority areas should come as a surprise, as many mirror previous years, signaling that the SEC has doubled down on common deficiencies. The new AML Rule is one to keep an eye out for, as a compliance date of January 2028 will be upon us before we know it. The SEC has also indicated that they will be revisiting the Customer Identification Program rule, which remains to be finalized.

If you’ve been falling behind on your compliance requirements or weren’t able to take advantage of the slow rollout in 2025 to catch up, you don’t need to be doing it alone. Our Outsourced Compliance Department is designed to take everything off your plate, but we only have 2 spots available this month to join us. Give us a call on 770-741-2305.

Regulate THIS! An RIA-ly Unfiltered Podcast

Don’t wait until it’s too late. Work smarter, not harder.

On today’s episode, join Tracie Behr & Leila Shaver as they dive into the world of Succession Planning.

Ask Leila

Question: What are some of the important compliance changes coming in 2026?

Answer:

Beyond the normal Annual Amendments deadline, the deadline to comply with the Reg SP updates is June 3, 2026 for small RIAs (less than $1.5 billion in AUM). The changes essentially require that firms implement an Incident Response Plan as well as privacy and data security protocols to ensure the safeguarding of client data. With the lightning speed at which technology has advanced since the internet became available in homes in the early 1990s, many firms have failed to implement basic security protocols to ensure data protection and security.

To keep track of important compliance dates, why not access our 2026 compliance checklist HERE.

Responsible Entrepreneurs

Responsible Entrepreneurs don’t leave their form ADVs until the last second. It’s annual amendment season, which means it’s time to update your disclosures and make sure everything is submitted to the regulators on time. But how do you know if you need to disclose something? How can you be sure you’ve filled in your forms correctly and aren’t going to get caught out later in the year when enforcement is high on the SEC’s priority list? Well, you could ask the Compliance Nerds for help. We can make sure your annual amendments are completed and filed correctly for a flat fee, and if you want to get all of your compliance tasks ticked off, why not get your Form 13-F formatted and filed at the same time?