Definition of Stile: a step or set of steps for passing over a fence or wall.

“You should write a blog…” said many people, often, to she who can’t bring herself to read a blog.  Perhaps I’ve been standing on a principle that I should have thrown out with my Kangaroo tennis shoes or my Milli Vanilli cassette tape, but I have never been compelled to market my business, let alone through or these new-fangled social media things.

Yet here I am, writing a blog, that will go on my company website, which is also new.  Maybe it is the 23 years I’ve spent reviewing other people’s advertising, or the fact that I’ve always found new clients through great referrals, but I’ve never felt compelled to spend time or money on this type of stuff.  And now I am being dragged kicking and screaming into marketing and blogging and who knows what else.

So, what changed?  Well, in case you haven’t noticed, the world changed a bit in 2020.   In my household and office, I realized that this economic climate might be the best opportunity in which to grow.  I didn’t have to look far for help,  because the person who has been making suggestions to me for years about how to change and improve what I do happens to also have over 25 years of compliance experience and lives with me.  My husband and I met years ago in the industry, bonded over FINRA rules, and have been together ever since.    His skill set is a nice compliment to my own and adding his abilities to the practice enables the firm to offer many things it hasn’t in the past.

You might be asking, who are we and what do we do?  Well besides really enjoying football (when it can be played) and being parents to a sassy 10 year old,  as compliance consultants we work with a variety of registered investment advisory firms and broker/dealers who are looking for solutions to their ongoing compliance challenges.  For some, that might mean helping get a firm registered. For others, it is handholding through an audit.    Kevin’s specialty over the past 15 years has been in supervision and compliance technology, which means he knows what to do with all that data you are paying to have reconciled.  Think about the parts of your practice that are boring, nonsensical, or make you nervous, and we may be the people you could outsource them to.

I started Stile Compliance many years ago and have helped investment advisory firms stay in compliance since then.  I got my start in the business at Securities America, an independent broker/dealer and moved to Clarke Lanzen Skalla Investment Firm (“CLS”) as their Chief Compliance Officer in 2001.   CLS invited me to provide consulting services through their recordkeeping arm, and as I grew to enjoy consulting services, I opted to start my own firm.

Kevin’s professional career began with a local savings and loan while he was in college.  His interest in the securities industry began after playing an instrumental part in taking the financial institution public. He enjoys helping clients find ways to leverage technology to improve their compliance and supervision programs, a passion that developed early on when creating exception reports and eventually designing compliance technology for investment advisers and independent broker dealers, a bucket list item that he was excited to complete.  He’s also earned many industry designations throughout his career.  So many, in fact, he has more letters to display after his name than letters in his name.

But enough about us, let’s talk about you.  Do you need help managing some of the more complex and time-consuming tasks associated with your compliance program?  Are you looking for a way to enhance your compliance readiness, but don’t know where to start?  Do you want to be prepared for a regulatory exam long before it starts, but just can’t maintain focus on compliance for one more minute?  Then give us a call.  We are always available and look forward to learning your business so that we can provide you the best possible compliance solution.