Reminders - Media Quotes and Due Diligence Meetings
Happy Friday! I want to send out some short reminders on a few topics that popped up recently. If you have questions on them, please let me know.
Media:
Occassionally, a local newspaper or industry magazine reaches out to our advisors seeking a quote or to gather information about your practice. Please be cognizant of our WSP section relative to media contact on page 19 of the current version of our procedures manual. Media contact is limited to CEO, President, CCO and others specifically authorized by IPI. If you are contacted by a media source, please contact Compliance regarding the request and the information that is being requested. We will need to review, confirm, approve and receive a copy of the article from you. Any questions on this topic, please let me know.
Due Diligence Meetings:
Product sponsors will send requests for you to attend due diligence meetings in which they pay for your flight, hotel, food, transportation, etc. to learn more about their products. The payment of the company for you to attend these meetings is called non-cash compensation because you are receiving a benefit without receiving cash for it. Our WSP references this topic on page 185. Any requests that you receive for a visit to a company in which you are not paying to attend must be reviewed, approved and documented by Compliance beforehand. This does not include lunch and learns (you can get a free lunch and I don't need to document it).
If you are interested in attending an event in which you have been invited, you should first ask the company if they have requested approval from IPI's Compliance yet. If not, please send them my contact information and do not attend the event without approval as that is a vioalation of our procedures. The review of the product sponsors info is typically a quick turn around for me once I receive a copy of the event's agenda, the approximate amount of the non-cash compensation, invitee list and to ensure that it is a product approved by IPI. Any questions on this topic, please let me know.
Also, a quick reminder that if your office is hosting a product sponsor to conduct meetings with clients (i.e. client appreciation) then obviously you need to loop in Compliance to review the items being presented and for non-cash compensation issues. Failure to do so woud be a violation of our procedures. Any questions, please let me know.