FINRA Small Firm Conference Takeaways
FINRA’s Small Firm Conference put vendor oversight and practical AI in focus. See how fewer vendors, clear use cases and explainable decisions bring value.
Blog
Guidance and analysis on advertising review, communications supervision, archiving and AI for regulated financial firms, from Red Oak and MirrorWeb.
Posts
FINRA Advertising Regulation Conference Takeaways
FINRA AI governance took center stage at its advertising conference. See how technology-neutral rules, human review and verifiable records shape oversight.
MMI Conference Takeaways
Slow marketing content approval holds back product launches. See how Red Oak’s AI review and 4U help get approved content to partners faster.
SIFMA Social Media & Digital Marketing Seminar
Learn how adviser social media supervision supports personalized client trust, with takeaways from the SIFMA Social Media & Digital Marketing Seminar.
SEC Risk Alert on Annual Compliance Reviews: What It Means for Investment Advisers
An SEC risk alert on annual compliance reviews reveals how policy and practice drift apart. See how Red Oak's Mira keeps policies continuously aligned.
SEC Risk Alert on Annual Compliance Reviews: What Advisers Need to Know
SEC Risk Alert reveals gaps in annual compliance reviews. Learn what examiners found and how AI supervision keeps advisers audit-ready
Employee Spotlight: Alex Bell, Implementation Specialist
Meet Alex Bell, implementation specialist at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on nearly eight years that took him from web QA to client implementation.
Ad Review to Supervision: From Approval to Oversight
Going from ad review to supervision means monitoring what your people say after content ships, not just before. See how Red Oak connects the two.
The Value of a Connected Compliance Cycle
A disconnected compliance cycle creates inefficiency and regulatory risk. Learn how native capture shapes supervision quality and connects to review.
Off-Channel Enforcement: The Rules Remain the Same
The off-channel communications recordkeeping rule hasn't changed, only enforcement has. See the full timeline and what it means for your firm
How to Improve Accuracy in Digital Communications Compliance
Learn what to measure, automate and monitor to improve accuracy in digital communications compliance, from false positive rates to keyword-based alerting.
Why Communications Compliance Tools Miss the Mark
Tools built for email read chat and text as if they were email, so false positives pile up. Learn how Mira's context-aware AI supervision reads each channel.
What the SEC Is Asking About AI
The SEC's AI exam requests are targeting firms' AI claims, tool inventories, and governance. See what your firm should be ready to produce in an exam.
The Complete Guide to Reducing False Positives in Communications Monitoring
Why keyword and lexicon tools create false positives in communications monitoring, what the noise costs a compliance team and how AI cuts alert volume.
Employee Spotlight: Hannah Lester, Business Development Representative
Meet Hannah Lester, business development representative at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on talking with prospects and staying close to compliance trends.
The Ad Review to 4U Connector is Live
Red Oak's Ad Review to 4U Connector pushes compliance-approved content into 4U the moment it clears review. One click from approval to distribution.
Effective AI Supervision Starts With Your Data - Shouldn't You Own It?
Poor data portability creates hidden risk in AI supervision. Learn four questions to ask about your archive before you evaluate any AI supervision vendor.
The Difference Between Compliance and Defensibility
Compliant meets the standard; defensible proves it. Learn why examiners now ask how firms oversee AI supervision and how documented reasoning closes the gap.
4 Questions to Ask an AI Supervision Vendor Before You Buy
Four questions to help compliance teams evaluate AI supervision vendors and get to what really matters, from training data to policy ingestion.
Mira: Every Supervision Decision, Documented and Defensible
See how Mira documents every supervision decision with plain-language rationale, so when a regulator asks why, the answer is already in the record. Learn more.
Firms are Consolidating. Should their Compliance Tech Stack?
As firms consolidate, learn why infrastructure compliance can consolidate while judgment-heavy review needs orchestration, and what to ask technology vendors.
Mira's Foundation: Ten Years of Native Communications From 1,000+ Regulated Firms
Mira is built on a decade of native communications data, captured with full metadata and conversation context. See why that changes what AI supervision can do.
Employee Spotlight: Alexandra Crossen, Strategic Customer Success Manager
Meet Alexandra Crossen, strategic customer success manager at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on managing complex accounts, recent wins and team culture.
5 Reasons Financial Services Firms Can't Keep Up With Modern Compliance Demands
Five reasons financial services firms struggle to keep up with modern compliance demands, from legacy tools to mobile blind spots. See where the gaps are.
Is Your AI Governance Ready for an Examiner?
Former SEC and FINRA enforcement attorney Brian Rubin explains the AI governance gaps regulators are already flagging and what CCOs need to document now.
Drag and Drop Your Compliance Handbook. Mira Does the Rest
Upload your compliance handbook and Mira, Red Oak's AI supervision agent, turns it into tailored supervision policies in minutes, with no keyword lists to keep.
Compliance Policies Need Tools Sophisticated Enough to Enforce Them
Your WSPs are more sophisticated than your supervision technology. See how AI supervision closes the gap between compliance policy and enforcement.
FINRA Annual Conference 2026 Recap
AI dominated FINRA's Annual Conference. See what compliance teams are asking and how Mira is redefining communications supervision for regulated firms.
Communications Supervision: Is a 5% Sample Enough?
Firms have relied on sampling for communications supervision for decades. But AI is changing what regulators consider reasonable. Here's what that means for your firm.
Employee Spotlight: Alice Jennings, Support Team Manager
Meet Alice Jennings, support team manager at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on leading a customer-first support team and keeping trust at its center.
AI Supervision Addressed the Volume Problem. What's Next?
AI communications supervision cut the false positive problem down. But what comes next? See why the coordination gap is the next challenge to solve.
How to Justify Compliance Technology Spend to Leadership
Justifying compliance technology spend to leadership is hard. Here's how CCOs at upper SMB and mid-market firms are winning that conversation.
How FINRA Took the SEC's Baton With Off-Channel Penalties
The SEC stepped back. FINRA didn't. See how off-channel communications enforcement has shifted and how broker-dealers can stay examination-ready.
When a Compliance Officer leaves, What Do They Take With Them?
When a compliance officer leaves, does the supervision program suffer? Learn why explainable communications surveillance is essential for mid-market firms.
Employee Spotlight: Evie Lynch, Onboarding Team Lead
Meet Evie Lynch, onboarding team lead at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on moving from Manchester to Austin and setting new customers up well from day one.
Compliance Officers Are Experts, Stop Wasting Them on Noise
Compliance officers are experts, so why are they buried in false positives? Learn how better supervision technology returns their focus to risks that matter.
AI-Washing: The Latest Reminder That Financial Firms Need to Prove Their Claims
AI-washing is drawing SEC scrutiny. Learn how the Marketing Rule applies to AI claims and what records your firm needs to stay compliant.
When AI Efficiency Creates Compliance Risk: Managing the Content Explosion in Financial Services
AI tools multiply the content advisors and marketers produce. Learn how this strains FINRA and SEC review, and how Compliance-Grade AI helps teams keep pace.
Webinar Recap: Don't Just Trust It - The Case for Explainable AI in Compliance
Red Oak's webinar on AI in compliance: why transparency, governance and clear decision logic help teams trust AI alerts and defend them to regulators.
Compliance Culture Reset 2026 - From Gatekeepers to Growth Enablers
Why compliance culture is shifting from Department of No to strategic enabler in 2026. Explore the technology and practices driving this change
Financial Firms Don't Need Enterprise Budgets for Communications Surveillance
Discover how mid-sized firms implement sophisticated compliance surveillance with lean teams and realistic budgets. See what's truly essential
Employee Spotlight: Matthew Padula, Strategic Account Executive
Meet Matthew Padula, strategic account executive at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on working with clients and prospects to find the right fit for their needs.
Red Oak Reflects on 2025 Trends and Expectations for 2026
Explore the trends shaping 2026, from AI governance and regulation to advisor behavior, and why firms need faster, connected, audit-ready workflows.
AI that Answers to Compliance
Red Oak CTO Rick Grashel explains how Compliance-Grade AI is built for the precision, transparency and oversight regulators expect, with auditable interactions.
3 Communications Surveillance Gaps That Cost Mid-Sized Financial Firms
Three communications surveillance gaps cost firms millions in fines. Learn how cross-channel blind spots, time delays, and false positives create risk
Webinar Recap: How Sentinel AI (now Mira) Surfaces Only What Matters
Discover how Sentinel AI (now Mira) achieves 98% false positive reduction in communications surveillance. Watch our webinar on AI-powered compliance monitoring.
FINRA Warns about GenAI Risks in 2026 Regulatory Oversight Report
FINRA's 2026 Regulatory Oversight Report flags GenAI risks such as autonomous AI agents and weak traceability. Learn how firms can govern their AI tools.
The Architecture of AI-First Compliance
How AI-first compliance monitoring works: AI reviews alerts before they reach your team, clearing obvious false positives and escalating ambiguous cases.
Product Spotlight: Web Changes
Web Changes transforms website archiving into active monitoring. Detect material changes automatically, review in minutes. Discover the difference.
The Ultimate Guide to Mobile Compliance ROI: Is Your Firm Paying the Price of Outdated Technology?
Learn how false positives in mobile communications surveillance drain analyst time and budget, push staff around monitoring, and how Compliance-Grade AI helps.
Navigating a New Era of Investor Behavior: What FINRA’s Latest Study Reveals
Red Oak's take on the FINRA Foundation's National Financial Capability Study: how investors are changing and how firms can adapt advisor content.
Glass-Box vs Black-Box AI: Why Compliance Teams Need Explainable Decisions
Learn why compliance teams need AI that documents its reasoning, and how Mira's glass-box supervision records each decision so you can answer examiners.
Employee Spotlight: Zhixiang Ren, Solutions Architect
Meet Zhixiang Ren, solutions architect at MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, on solving technical problems in presales and turning customer needs into ideas.
Product Spotlight: Sentinel AI (now Mira)
Mira gives compliance teams 98% fewer false positives by filtering newsletters, internal memos and reply-all chains, so reviewers can focus on real risks.
The Real Cost of Waiting #4: When Compliance Half-Measures Become Headlines
How compliance half-measures, from unmonitored personal devices to AI that can't be explained, turn into public enforcement actions that hurt a firm's name.
The Real Cost of Waiting #3: How Employee Surveillance Anxiety Undermines Compliance
84% of employees distrust compliance monitoring. Learn how employee surveillance anxiety creates blind spots and undermines your program.
FINRA's AI Landscape and What it Means for Member Firms
FINRA Forward shows how generative AI is changing market oversight. Learn what it means for member firms' supervision programs and how to adopt AI responsibly.
SEC 2026 Exam Priorities: What You Need to Know
Red Oak's quick take on the SEC's 2026 examination priorities, with a focus on how examiners will look at AI, automation, documentation and exam readiness.
SEC 2026 Examination Priorities: AI Compliance, Recordkeeping, and Communications Supervision
SEC 2026 exam priorities target AI supervision, recordkeeping, and compliance effectiveness. Learn what examiners will review and how to prepare.
Reflections from the 2025 NSCP National Conference: A Candid Look at Change, Challenge, and What’s Coming Next
Red Oak's takeaways from the 2025 NSCP National Conference, covering shifting regulator relationships, the coming compliance leadership gap and burnout.
The Real Cost of Waiting #2: The $232,457 False Positive Budget Drain
Where false positive investigations drain compliance budgets, from analyst hours on mobile surveillance to missed risk, and what firms could fund instead.
Benchmark Report Key Finding #2 - Financial Firms Are Adopting AI Compliance Tools They Don't Trust
Our mobile communications benchmark survey found firms adopting AI compliance tools they don't fully trust. Learn what drives the gap and how to judge vendors.
The Real Cost of Waiting #1: The Time Tax of Outdated Mobile Compliance
A benchmark survey found compliance teams spend 308 hours a year on mobile communications surveillance. See where that time goes and how to win it back.
Webinar Recap: Web Compliance, Simplified
A recap of our website monitoring demo: how high-fidelity website archiving plus change alerts helps RIAs and broker-dealers prove what their sites showed.
The Real Cost of Waiting: The Hidden Toll of Outdated Mobile Compliance
The real cost of mobile compliance isn't just financial. See how outdated systems waste time, undermine trust, and increase risk across your firm.
Beyond the First Quarter: Strategies for Lasting Compliance Impact
Discover compliance strategies that drive lasting impact beyond your first 90 days as CCO. Expert CCO insights on culture, testing, and more.
AI That You Can Trust: How MirrorWeb Sentinel (now Mira) Delivers Transparent, Explainable Intelligence
How Mira, Red Oak's AI supervision agent, keeps your data in a private environment, shows why each message was flagged and cuts noise for review teams.
Webinar Recap: Turning the Silent Compliance Challenge Into a Competitive Advantage
Discover how modern communications compliance technology enables deal flow without restricting teams. Expert insights from our webinar recap
MIT Study: Why Financial Services Should Buy vs Build Technology
MIT research found AI projects built in-house fail far more often than those from specialist vendors. See why the lesson applies to compliance technology.
The Death of the Custom Model
Why compliance AI, especially in ad review, is moving away from custom-trained language models toward well-designed workflows around strong base models.
Benchmark Report Key Finding #1 - The 84% Privacy Crisis Undermining Mobile Compliance
84% of compliance teams fear privacy invasion. Discover how mobile compliance can protect privacy while meeting SEC requirements, and read the report.
5 Critical Mistakes New Chief Compliance Officers Make (And How to Avoid Them)
Avoid these 5 critical Chief Compliance Officer mistakes in your first 90 days. Learn proven strategies from seasoned CCOs to build trust and succeed.
Beyond Burden: How Business-Friendly Compliance Fuels Success in Financial Services
Business-friendly compliance transforms regulatory burden into competitive advantage. Learn how modern tech helps financial firms grow revenue faster.
The $2.4 Million Wake-Up Call: What FINRA's August Disciplinary Actions Mean for Financial Services
FINRA fines of more than $2.4 million in August 2025 centered on communications failures. See what the actions mean for firms and for individual employees.
How Chief Compliance Officers Can Succeed in Their First 90 Days
Discover key Chief Compliance Officer priorities in the first 90 days. Learn strategies for success and set your compliance function up for impact.
Communications Compliance: A Complete Guide to Digital Communications Capture
A guide to digital communications capture: what it is, why proactive capture matters, and how to keep complete records of email, chat, mobile and video.
The Hidden Tax Every Financial Firm Pays for Mobile Compliance Theater
A survey of compliance leaders found most firms capture only part of their mobile messages. See what partial capture costs a firm and how to close the gap.
Native Capture: Why it’s Non-Negotiable for Modern Compliance Teams
Native capture keeps digital communications as they happened, with full context and metadata. See why it matters for compliance teams and regulatory reviews.
MirrorWeb Named Finalist for Most Innovative SaaS Solution at the 2025 SaaS Awards
MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, was named a finalist for Most Innovative SaaS Solution at the 2025 SaaS Awards for its archiving platform and Trusted Contacts.
No More Room for “We’ll Get to It”
What compliance leaders at SEC-regulated firms need to know from the FY26 Investor Advocate objectives: off-channel fraud, crypto, disclosure risk and proof.
Your Texting Policy Won't Save You: Why Regulators Want Records Not Rules
No-texting policies won’t save you from SEC fines. Learn why capturing business texts is key to compliance and how to empower advisors to communicate compliantly via SMS, ...
Financial Deregulation - A False Sense of Security
Off-channel fines showed that priorities may shift while accountability persists. Learn why deregulation should not lull firms into weaker recordkeeping.
Compliance Relics: The Case Against PDFs and Screenshots
Static archives fall short in modern compliance. Discover why replayable records offer the clarity, context, and control regulators expect.
AI for Ad Review: A Compliance Professional’s Checklist
Artificial Intelligence is transforming how compliance teams approach advertising review, but not all “AI-powered” solutions are created equal.
iMessage Is a Compliance Risk, and Everyone’s Finally Talking About It
iMessage is one of the least addressed compliance gaps at broker-dealers, RIAs and funds. Learn why regulators are focused on it and how firms capture it.
Compliance Supervision Is Broken: The Case for Moving Beyond Keywords
Legacy compliance tools overwhelm teams with false alerts. Learn why leaders are moving beyond keyword-based supervision to smarter solutions.
AI’s Expanding Role in Financial Services Compliance: Red Oak’s AI is Live
Learn why Red Oak's AI-driven compliance review tool works for firms of all sizes and structures, customizable without extensive retraining.
Stability Amid the Storm: Why Vendor Design Matters in Compliance Supervision
A breach at a third-party messaging archiver exposed advisor and client messages. Learn why wrapped apps carry risk and what to ask of supervision vendors.
Product Spotlight: Sentinel (now Mira)
Meet Mira, Red Oak's AI supervision agent. It looks past basic keyword lists to cut false positives, so compliance teams can focus on the riskiest messages.
Branching Out, Deepening Roots, and Expanding Horizons: Highlights from the 2025 Red Oak User Conference
Highlights from the sixth annual Red Oak User Conference in Austin: client conversations, platform announcements and the combination of Red Oak and 4U.
MirrorWeb Wins Two ACQ5 Awards for Excellence in Compliance and Legal Archiving
MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, won two ACQ5 awards: Compliance Solutions Provider of the Year (Archiving) and Legal Industry Archiving Provider of the Year.
What We Learned on the Road: 6 Takeaways from IAA + SIFMA 2025
Six takeaways from the 2025 IAA Compliance Conference and the SIFMA C&L Annual Conference, from the SEC Marketing Rule FAQ to AI oversight and exam preparation.
The Cost of Non-Compliance: How Proper Archiving Prevents Regulatory Fines
Learn why comprehensive communications archiving is a non-negotiable in today's regulatory climate.
Product Spotlight: Trusted Contacts
Trusted Contacts is a privacy-first mobile archiving app that captures only business communications on BYOD and corporate devices, to meet recordkeeping needs.
Supervision Webinar Takeaways: Protecting Your Firm from Known and Unknown Risks
Six takeaways from Red Oak's supervision webinar on overseeing advisers' social media and digital marketing, from clear expectations to proactive review.
Common AI Pitfalls in the Financial Compliance Industry
Pitfalls firms hit when adopting AI for compliance, from tools that ignore existing workflows to models that need constant retraining, and how to avoid them.
Affiliate Monitoring: Safeguarding Compliance While Driving Business Growth
How affiliate monitoring helps firms manage the compliance, operational and reputational risks of affiliate marketing, with best practices for running it.
Master Social Media Compliance
Overview Listen The provided text discusses the crucial role of social media compliance in the financial industry, highlighting the regulatory frameworks established by FINRA and ...
Download Our Guide: A Step-by-Step Guide for Starting a Residential Supervisory Locations Compliance Program
Overview Summary This guide outlines a nine-step process for firms to implement a Residential Supervisory Locations (RSLs) compliance program, effective June 1, 2024, under ...
Better Understand Residential Supervisory Locations (RSLs) and the Remote Inspections Pilot Program
Overview Summary The source provides an in-depth analysis of two new Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) rules that significantly alter how firms supervise remote ...
Compliance at a Crossroad: Preparing for Change with the Incoming Administration
Red Oak founder Stephen Pope on preparing compliance teams for deregulation, continued enforcement or both under a new administration, and staying audit-ready.
The Hidden Cost of Inheriting Technical Debt from Your Provider
How technical debt inherited from a compliance provider, often from platforms stitched together over time, hurts efficiency, scalability and compliance.
The Ultimate Guide to Website Compliance in 2025: SEC, FCA, and More
Stay ahead of 2025 website compliance requirements with this ultimate guide. Learn SEC, FCA, and global regulations to support your website compliance, regulatory and preservation ...
9 Takeaways from the Webinar: “AI in Compliance: Enhancing Advertising Review with Artificial Intelligence”
Nine takeaways from our webinar on AI in advertising review, with practical strategies for compliance teams bringing AI into their review process.
Assisted Intelligence vs Artificial Intelligence
David Clee argues that today's AI is better described as assisted intelligence: a powerful tool that enhances human abilities rather than replacing them.
5 Proven Strategies to Streamline Your Compliance Workflow in 2025
Five ways compliance teams can speed up review workflows, starting with threading and native capture so conversations keep context and records stay complete.
Navigating FINRAs API
Overview Summary The source outlines FINRA’s mandatory transition from its legacy Web EFT (Electronic File Transfer) platform to a new API-based infrastructure, effective with the ...
When Will AI Replace Humans
AI can speed up financial services compliance, but people remain essential. Learn why human-in-the-loop review matters for judgment and accountability.
Monitoring Finfluencers
Financial influencers bring new regulatory risk to financial services. James Cella explains the rules around finfluencers and why firms need strong monitoring.
AI Glossary
Key AI terms for compliance professionals in financial services, from rule-based systems and Boolean logic to large language models and generative AI.
5 Questions To Ask When Building Your Compliance Budget
Five questions to ask as you build a compliance budget, covering firm goals, market focus, team relationships, regulatory needs and culture.
10 Questions To Ask When Choosing a RegTech Provider
Ten questions to ask before you choose a regtech provider, so the technology you pick helps your firm manage services, automate processes and serve clients.
Ongoing Challenges for Compliance Professionals
Compliance professionals are expected to know the past, stay immersed in current issues and trends, and help plan for future success. A short look at that role.
10 Takeaways from “Navigating FINRA's New API for Registration Management" Webinar
Key takeaways from our webinar on moving from FINRA's Web EFT system to the FINRA API, including the transition timeline and how firms can modernize workflows.
Reflections from the 2024 NSCP National Conference: 10 Takeaways from Our Consulting Team
Ten takeaways from Red Oak's consultants at the 2024 NSCP National Conference, from off-channel communications risk to supervision at smaller firms.
Highlights from the 2024 FINRA Advertising Regulation Conference
Highlights from the 2024 FINRA Advertising Regulation Conference, where off-channel communications and finfluencers led the discussion of supervision and exams.
FCA Consumer Duty: A Work in Progress
A year after the FCA Consumer Duty took effect, we assess its impact so far, how well it has met its objectives and how it is likely to evolve for UK firms.
Connector Spotlight: Vimeo
See what the Vimeo connector captures for compliance: channel details, video posts, captions, comments, reactions and live streams from business channels.
UPDATE - How the SEC Keeps Raising the Stakes on Mobile Messaging
A timeline of the SEC's off-channel communications probe, from the first recordkeeping fines in 2021 to the August 2024 sanctions, and how firms can stay clear.
The Generative Generation - AI, Chatbots and Financial Compliance
How generative AI and chatbots are changing work in financial services, why regulators struggle to keep pace and what that means for firms' compliance teams.
Connector Spotlight: Instagram for Business
See what the Instagram for Business connector captures for compliance, from posts and messages to page updates, so regulated firms can archive social content.
Connector Spotlight: Facebook for Business
See what the Facebook for Business connector captures for compliance: profile details, posts, reactions, comments and page messages, with their attachments.
2024 So Far: Recordkeeping Revamps and Regulatory Rigor
An analysis of the intense regulatory activity we have seen so far from the SEC, FINRA and the FCA.
Whatsapp Compliance, Self-Reporting, and Ripping off the Band-Aid
The SEC has encouraged firms to self-report off-channel communications violations. Learn how self-reporting works, its benefits and what firms should weigh.
FINRA Report 2024: Recordkeeping Takeaways
Key recordkeeping teakeaways from the 2024 FINRA Annual Regulatory Oversight Report.
How MirrorWeb Evolves with Demand
The story of MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, from website archiving roots to capturing all digital communications, and how it adapted to changing regulation.
Gurbir Grewal and 'A Culture of Proactive Compliance'
The SEC's enforcement director called for a culture of proactive compliance. We unpack his vision, why he spoke out and how his guidelines can help firms.
How the SEC Keeps Raising the Stakes on Mobile Messaging
A timeline of the SEC's off-channel mobile messaging investigation: the measures taken, who is affected, why the stakes keep rising and how to stay clear.
How RegTech Platforms Can Adapt to the Modern Working World
Many communications surveillance platforms were built 20 years ago. Learn how compliance tools can keep up with new channels and the way people work today.
Introducing Archive Compare
See how Web Archive Compare lets compliance and legal teams view two captures of a webpage side by side, in visual or text mode, to spot changes between dates.
Communications Surveillance: A Company-wide Consideration
Outside of compliance teams, how does communications surveillance impact other critical roles within an organization?
Feature Spotlight: Privileged and Marketing Addresses
Learn how privileged and marketing address settings keep messages such as outside counsel emails and newsletters out of surveillance reviews and searches.
The Time is Right
Red Oak announced a growth equity investment from Mainsail to accelerate product development and enhance its compliance software for financial services firms.
Regulation, Regulation and More Regulation
A roundup of recent SEC rules and proposals for financial firms, including Regulation Best Interest and the modernized advertising rule, and where each stands.
Feature Spotlight: Mobile Threading
See how View in Thread shows mobile messages from apps like WhatsApp and WeChat in their original thread, with attachments inline, for clearer review.
The SEC's Proposed ESG Disclosure Amendments
In 2022, ESG disclosure requirements were proposed by the SEC. Learn about the impact they could have on corporations, funds, and financial advisors.
What does ChatGPT mean for digital archiving?
ChatGPT has changed how content is created and shared. Learn what large language models mean for digital archiving, data retention and the records firms keep.
Why should Universities archive their digital content in 2023?
Universities create huge volumes of web, social and internal content. Learn why higher education needs to capture, protect and future-proof its digital records.
WARCs, screenshots, and PDFs: what's the difference?
Learn how the WARC file format differs from screenshots and PDFs for web archiving, and why dynamic replay keeps the interactive content regulators may ask for.
2023 Data Archiving Trends
Four digital archiving trends shaping 2023 for financial services, led by a faster pace of SEC and CFTC recordkeeping rulemaking after the Marketing Rule.
2022 Highlights for Red Oak
Red Oak's 2022 year in review: new technology, software enhancements, a growing team of experts and industry recognition, with thanks to clients and staff.
Microsoft Teams Archiving: Updated License Requirements Explained
Third-party archiving of Microsoft Teams needs an E5 license or an E3 license with a compatible E5 add-on. See which Microsoft license types qualify.
Financial Services’ Inconvenient Need for WhatsApp Archiving
SEC and CFTC settlements of about $1.8 billion with 12 banks put WhatsApp use in focus. Learn how firms got here and their options to avoid similar penalties.
A Guide to Website Archiving 2023
A guide to website archiving challenges in financial services, the public sector and consumer brands, and how a website archive helps each one meet them.
How to Archive Your Google Optimize Content
Learn how to capture every variant of your Google Optimize A/B tests in your website archive, using Google Tag Manager and opt-in and opt-out cookies.
The FCA's New Consumer Duty: The Role of Data Archiving
What the FCA's Consumer Duty asks of UK financial firms, who it affects and how data archiving helps firms show the customer outcomes the Duty expects.
RegTech: Three Increasingly Regulated Industries
Why regulation keeps growing beyond financial services, with a look at three other industries facing more rules and turning to regulatory technology.
How Do I Track Changes Made to My Website?
Learn how website change reports compare text content daily, weekly or monthly, so compliance teams see edits to disclaimers and posts without image noise.
SEC Marketing Rule: How to Stay Compliant And Avoid Big Fines
The SEC's new Marketing Rule comes into force in November. How can your firm stay compliant and avoid big fines? Read on for all the details.
Unpacking President Biden's Crypto Executive Order
An analysis of the Executive Order on digital assets, its implementation process, and what it means from the perspective of regulatory compliance.
Shifting Goalposts - The Many Challenges of a Chief Compliance Officer
How the chief compliance officer role has evolved, the daily challenges CCOs face as personal liability grows, and how firms can make the role more manageable.
Shape Up - A Product Development Methodology
MirrorWeb, now part of Red Oak, adopted the Shape Up product development method in 2022. Its product and engineering leads explain how six-week cycles work.
SEC Proposes Changes to Names Rule Related to ESG Funds
The SEC’s proposed new name rule will ensure investors receive good information about ESG-focused funds in their portfolios. Learn more about the rule.
Is Your Organization Prepared for the Future of Compliance?
The future of compliance is upon us. Are you ready? This post discusses how to get your organization ahead of the curve and compliant with upcoming regulations.
SEC 2022 Exam Priorities: Be Prepared
What the SEC's 2022 examination priorities covered, why the SEC publishes them each year and how firms can prepare their teams and records for an exam.
Heading Into the Busy Season: What to Keep in Mind
As regulators begin their annual visits, financial services compliance professionals can ensure they’ve made updates and met regulatory requirements
How Regulators are Tackling the 'Wild West' of Cryptocurrency
As cryptocurrency grew in popularity, regulators moved in. Learn why the SEC chair called crypto the Wild West and how oversight of the market is tightening.
The Compliance Implications of a Remote/Hybrid Workforce in Financial Services
What a major off-channel recordkeeping fine signaled for firms with remote and hybrid staff, and how to keep business messages on personal devices on record.
They Will Never Notice: How One Adviser Defrauded Clients of Over $1 Million
The story of an investment adviser representative who defrauded a high-profile client, and what it shows about fiduciary duty and honest fee disclosures.
Should Your Advisory Fees Be a Market Differentiator?
Why competing on advisory fees creates regulatory risk for advisers, and how accurate fee calculation and disclosure support fiduciary duty to clients.
Don’t Text and Trade
Social Post 2: Books and records compliance is a serious matter. Just ask the team that was recently fined $200 million for their failures to preserve written communication. What ...
Vendor Recordkeeping Lapses Lead to $1.2 Million in Fines
When a recordkeeping vendor fell short, FINRA fined and censured the firm that relied on it. Learn what went wrong and what to ask of your own archiving vendor.
New Year, New Rules.
Bright and shiny objects catch your attention. Regulators are no exception to this rule. Your examiners are keeping an eye out for all types of infractions and oversights. ...
4 Areas Where Chief Compliance Officers Can Make an Impact
Four areas where chief compliance officers can make an impact, starting with the business champion role, and how to combine them to lead across the firm.
What Are The SEC Recordkeeping Rules for Investment Advisors?
The SEC lays out specific recordkeeping rules for investment advisor to follow, or else face significant fines and penalties.
Complying with SEC Regulations
Complying with SEC regulations of recordkeeping isn't difficult, but it requires a fit-for-purpose solution.
Popular Backup Software
Popular backup software is used to preserve critical organizational data for later reference or restoration in the event of data corruption.
What is Chain of Custody?
Chain of custody documents who handled a piece of evidence, when and how, so its integrity holds up. Learn how it works and why it matters for business records.
How to Archive Text Messages on Android Phones
Learn why firms need to archive business text messages sent from Android phones, how regulators view business texting, and how archiving reduces liability.
What is a Legal Hold?
A legal hold requires a company to preserve relevant records and documents ahead of potential litigation. Learn how legal holds work and when they end.
How can Software Help You Archive Digital Communications?
Learn how archiving software stores texts, emails and other communications for set periods, how it differs from backup and why regulators expect it.
Best Practices for Email Archiving
Email archiving best practices, from consulting your legal team and choosing a solution to setting retention periods, automating capture and reviewing updates.
What is Cloud Archiving software?
Cloud archiving software stores data for the long term and makes it easy to retrieve. Learn how a cloud archive differs from a backup and its benefits.
How to select and use an SMS archiving solution
Learn why firms need an SMS archiving solution beyond compliance, from minimizing liability to supporting HR, and what to look for when choosing one.
Social Media eDiscovery tools help companies remain compliant and reduce liability
How social media eDiscovery tools collect, store and search social content so firms can meet regulatory obligations, limit liability and answer legal action.
Is Your Company Compliant with the SEC's Email Retention Policy?
Email archiving has become an essential business function in the financial services industry.
SEC and FINRA Email Archiving Policy
Financial services companies must archive emails to remain compliant with SEC and FINRA rules.
An Email Archive Can Help Maintain Compliance With European Privacy Regulations
The European GDPR regulation calls for organisations to secure private data of European citizens, including information found in emails.
Red Oak COO Cathy Vasilev Honored among Inspiring Women Leaders
Red Oak COO Cathy Vasilev is recognized among inspiring women leaders for her compliance expertise and for building and mentoring her implementation teams.
Managing Your Annual Compliance Checklist
How do you start 2022 on the right foot? With our compliance check list. Here's some critical tasks you’ll want to make time for before rolling into 2022.
Social Media Influencers and Customer Acquisition
What FINRA's 2021 sweep on social media influencers examined, from how broker-dealers win customers through finfluencers to how firms supervise paid promoters.
Protect your business from Google's page title changes for better site archiving
Google began rewriting HTML title tags in August 2021. Learn what that means for search traffic, data retrieval requests and keeping accurate website records.
How To Align Compliance with Content Operations to Navigate the Regulatory Maze
A guest post on how financial services firms can align marketing compliance review with content operations, using a single source of truth to scale approvals.
Cybersecurity and Compliance: Protecting You Firm from Phishing
Phishing is one of the most common cyberattacks on financial firms. Learn why cybersecurity is everyone's job and how educating employees and clients helps.
Finfluencers and Zoom Inspections
FINRA planned targeted sweeps on options account opening, SPACs and finfluencer supervision. Learn what its CEO said and what it means for exam season.
Avoiding Overbilling Issues through Diligent Compliance Efforts
Why advisory clients get overbilled, from missed threshold triggers to process gaps as firms grow, and the compliance steps that help your firm avoid it.
How to whitelist MirrorWeb on CloudFlare
Step-by-step instructions for adding a Cloudflare firewall rule that allows our archiving crawler's user agent, so your website can be captured in full.
Financial Reporting and Auditing of SPACs
Learn how SPACs work, the typical timeline to find and merge with a target company, and the governance and reporting risks of an accelerated schedule.
Red Oak Compliance Recognized Among The Americas’ Fastest-Growing Companies by Financial Times
Red Oak Compliance was named to the Financial Times list of The Americas' Fastest Growing Companies 2021, compiled with Statista. See why Red Oak made the list.
Should You Purchase a Written Supervisory Procedures Template?
Dust off that compliance manual. If you’ve purchased a template to use for your written supervisory procedures, you may need to make some updates.
Red Oak Ranks In Top 200 Among Inc. 5000 Regional List
Red Oak was named to the Inc. 5000 Regionals list of fastest-growing private companies in Texas, ranking 198th among privately owned businesses in the state.
What You Should Know About FINRA's 2021 Exam and Risk Monitoring Program
FINRA combined its exam findings and exam priorities into a single report in 2021. Read key insights from the report and the areas FINRA planned to focus on.
Preparing for Regulation Best Interest Exams in 2021
The SEC recently released a public statement on Reg BI and its role in this year’s examinations. Are you concerned about whether your firm is prepared?
Countdown to Implementation
Learn how to set an implementation date for new ad review software and prepare your people and processes so the launch is well planned and on time.
A Quick Guide to Preparing for Your Next Compliance Review
What an SEC risk alert on recent exam observations shows about where firms fall short, and how to tighten your own processes before your next compliance review.
Modernized Marketing Rule for Investment Advisers
Your prospective customers expect to hear from others about whether they should trust you. Until recently, the use of this type of testimonial advertising was strictly curtailed ...
7 Ways Working with a Compliance Consultant Can Start Your Year Right
Seven ways a compliance consultant can help your firm turn new year plans into action, starting with working out what compliance training your team needs.
Why You Need a Centralized Review Process
A centralized advertising review process cuts friction between marketing and compliance. Learn how it helps teams turn content around faster and work together.
Why an Integrated Process for Advertising Compliance Review Matters
Some technology vendors say they’re compliant, but do they really understand the scope of compliance necessary to live up to SEC regulations?