Vigilant Wealth Management is hiring: Executive Director of Compliance Review in

200 W Madison St, Chicago, IL 60606, USA

Job Description

Posted Friday, November 8, 2024 at 6:00 AM

Our Story

Founded in 2008, Hightower is a wealth management firm that provides investment, financial and retirement planning services to individuals, foundations and family offices, as well as 401(k) consulting and cash management services to corporations. Hightower’s capital solutions, operational support services, size and scale empower its vibrant community of independent-minded wealth advisors to grow their businesses and help their clients achieve their vision of “well-th. rebalanced.” Based in Chicago with advisors across the U.S., we operate as a registered investment advisor (RIA).

Your Future Team

Hightower’s Compliance Department strives to provide industry-leading support to the firm’s advisor teams. We are passionate about serving as collaborators within all facets of the organization and focus on developing processes and strategies that are effective for advisors, their clients, and other mid and back-office departments, while adhering to the spirit of the regulation.

This position reports to the Chief Compliance Officer and is self-directed and self-motivated. To be successful in this role, you must have a strong second-line audit and testing program development skills, a deep understanding of registered investment adviser and broker dealer regulations and compliance requirements, and excellent communication and analytical skills.

What You’ll Do

• Develop, implement, and execute comprehensive second-line audit and ongoing testing programs for advisor team and corporate department operations, leveraging and building upon existing program protocols, ensuring adherence to regulatory standards and internal policies.
• Build, lead, and manage a Compliance Review Team, providing guidance, support, and development to staff.
• Travel to advisor team offices throughout the United States to conduct on-site reviews.
• Partner with the Head of Field Supervision to ensure the supervisory inspections and wellness visits performed by the Field Supervision Team are complementary to and informed by the Review Team’s audit visits.
• Conduct risk assessments and identify areas for improvement.
• Participate, as needed, with regulatory audits by FINRA, SEC, and state insurance and securities regulators.
• Continuously collaborate with the Compliance Department leadership to inform and improve the supervisory framework.
• Collaborate with advisor team and corporate department management to implement corrective actions and improvements, monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of implemented changes.
• Escalate with the appropriate sense of urgency to the Chief Compliance Officer as necessary.
• Stay updated on industry trends, regulatory changes, and best practices.
• Participate in various firm governance forums and/or committees, as assigned.
• Prepare detailed reports and present findings to senior management.
• Maintain and create compliance desk procedures.
• Interact with and support personnel at all levels of the Firm’s various business units.
• Support the Compliance Department with various projects as required.
• Foster a positive compliance culture.

What You’ll Bring

• Meticulous attention to detail, motivated by excellence.
• Exceptional critical thinking and communication skills, ability to educate – not dictate.
• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Law, or a related field.
• 10+ years of professional experience in a compliance role working for a registered investment advisor and broker dealer (or a relevant combination of both, if experience is separated), including experience in developing and executing second-line audit and testing programs, with at least 3 years in a leadership role.
• Effective at prioritization of workload with competing priorities while producing high quality work.
• Ability to independently analyze issues and requirements with the critical process understanding of business practices and implications, and assist with the continued refinement of a supervisory control framework.
• Highly responsive and proactive, able to own tasks from start to finish.
• Ability to take initiative and work independently with minimal supervision, while being equally comfortable working collaboratively.
• Proficient in the use of MS Office applications.
• Deep understanding of SEC, FINRA state-specific, and other rules and regulations as they relate to Hightower’s business model.
• Strong organization and project management skills.
• Series 7 and 24 securities licenses.

What We Offer

• Coverage on the first day of employment for medical, dental, and vision insurance
• Paid parental leave (16 weeks for primary caregiver and 8 weeks for secondary caregiver)
• Mother’s lounge onsite
• Flexible PTO plan
• Free brand-new gym in the Chicago office
• 401k matching plan
• HSA employer contributions
• Student loan assistance

AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER: Hightower is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate based upon race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, national origin, citizenship, veteran status, ancestry, age (over 40), physical or mental disability, medical condition (cancer-related), gender identity or expression, genetic information including sickle cell or hemoglobin C trait, or any other consideration made unlawful by applicable federal, state, or local law.

You are a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or possess other unrestricted U.S. work authorization and will not require sponsorship for U.S. work authorization now or anytime in the future.