SEC, FINRA & GLBA Compliance
Financial Advisors
Specialized cybersecurity services for financial advisors, RIAs, and investment firms. Protect client data, pass regulatory examinations, and build trust with comprehensive security programs.
Regulatory Requirements We Address
Expert compliance support for financial advisor-specific regulations
Security Challenges Facing Financial Advisors
Industry-specific threats and compliance requirements we help you address
Client Data Protection
Safeguard sensitive financial information, account details, and personally identifiable information (PII) from cyber threats and unauthorized access.
Regulatory Audits
Pass SEC, FINRA, and state regulatory examinations with documented security controls, policies, and compliance evidence.
Vendor Risk Management
Assess and monitor third-party vendors and service providers to ensure they meet your security and compliance requirements.
Email & Communication Security
Protect against phishing, business email compromise (BEC), and wire fraud targeting financial advisors and their clients.
How Guarded Protects Financial Advisors
Comprehensive security solutions tailored to your regulatory and business needs
vCISO Services
Strategic security leadership to build and maintain your cybersecurity program, ensuring ongoing SEC and FINRA compliance.
Learn More →Compliance Services
Expert guidance for SEC, FINRA, and GLBA requirements. Turn complex regulations into audit-ready security programs.
Learn More →Risk Assessment
NIST-based comprehensive risk analysis identifying vulnerabilities in your technology environment and client data protection systems.
Learn More →Vendor Risk Assessment
Evaluate custodians, broker-dealers, CRM providers, and other third-party vendors to ensure they meet regulatory requirements.
Learn More →Security Awareness Training
Train your team to recognize phishing, social engineering, and cyber threats specific to the financial advisory industry.
Learn More →Incident Response Planning
Develop and test incident response plans to minimize damage and meet regulatory notification requirements in case of a breach.
Learn More →Our Approach for Financial Advisors
We understand the unique pressures facing RIAs and financial advisors: stringent SEC oversight, FINRA expectations, sophisticated cyber threats, and clients who demand both service excellence and data protection. Our approach balances regulatory compliance with practical security.
Regulatory-First Security Program Design
We build security programs starting with SEC Regulation S-P, S-ID, and FINRA expectations as the foundation. Every policy, control, and procedure we implement satisfies regulatory requirements while providing genuine security protection. When SEC examiners arrive, you'll have documented evidence of comprehensive risk assessments, written policies and procedures, vendor due diligence, employee training, and incident response capabilities.
More importantly, we organize documentation the way examiners expect to see it—not buried in IT tickets or scattered across systems, but in a centralized compliance file with clear evidence of ongoing monitoring and continuous improvement.
Practical Security for Small Teams
Most RIAs operate lean: no dedicated IT staff, no CISO, limited technology budgets. We design security programs that work within these constraints. You don't need enterprise-grade SIEM systems or full-time security operations centers—but you do need encryption, multi-factor authentication, secure email, regular backups, and documented vendor oversight.
We implement controls that provide maximum protection with minimal ongoing management burden. Cloud-based solutions, managed security services, and automated monitoring reduce your team's workload while strengthening your security posture and compliance standing.
Vendor Risk Management Focus
Financial advisors depend on dozens of vendors: custodians, broker-dealers, CRM systems, portfolio management software, communication platforms, and compliance tools. The SEC expects documented due diligence for vendors accessing client data. Many advisors struggle to collect SOC 2 reports, security questionnaires, and insurance certificates from vendors—or don't know what to do with them once received.
We establish vendor risk management programs that scale to your vendor relationships: streamlined assessments for low-risk vendors, comprehensive reviews for critical providers like custodians, and standardized processes you can replicate as you add new vendors. You'll satisfy SEC vendor oversight requirements without drowning in paperwork.
Exam Preparation & Response Support
SEC and state examinations are stressful, especially when cybersecurity is a focus area. We prepare you for examinations by conducting pre-exam readiness assessments, organizing compliance documentation, identifying potential deficiencies, and remediating gaps before examiners arrive. During examinations, we serve as your technical resource, helping you respond to document requests and explain your security controls.
If you receive deficiency letters related to cybersecurity, we develop remediation plans that satisfy regulators while building sustainable security practices—not just checking boxes to close findings, but genuinely improving your security posture for the long term.
What Sets Our Financial Advisor Practice Apart
We specialize in serving RIAs and financial advisory firms. This isn't one of many industries we serve—it's a core focus area where we've built deep expertise in your specific regulatory requirements and security challenges.
SEC & FINRA Examination Experience
Our team has supported clients through dozens of SEC and state examinations with cybersecurity as a focus area. We know what examiners ask for, how they evaluate security programs, and what documentation satisfies their expectations. This experience translates into security programs that pass examinations on first review, not programs that generate deficiency letters requiring expensive remediation and follow-up exams.
Understanding Your Business Model
We understand how RIAs operate: fee-based models, client relationship management priorities, the importance of custodian relationships, limitations of advisor technology budgets, and the challenge of balancing growth with compliance overhead. We design security programs that protect your business without hindering client service or consuming disproportionate resources compared to firm size and revenue.
Fixed-Fee Compliance Programs
Most cybersecurity firms charge hourly rates with unpredictable costs. We offer fixed-fee annual compliance programs covering all your SEC cybersecurity requirements: annual risk assessments, policy updates, vendor assessments, employee training, and examination support. You'll know your exact cybersecurity compliance cost for the year—making budgeting straightforward and eliminating surprise invoices.
Partnership with Your CCO
Your Chief Compliance Officer manages cybersecurity as one of many compliance responsibilities, often without deep technical expertise. We serve as your CCO's technical resource: translating security concepts into compliance language, maintaining cybersecurity-related policies and procedures, documenting security initiatives for compliance files, and representing the firm on technical security matters during examinations.
Our Commitment to RIAs
We measure success by your regulatory outcomes: passing SEC examinations without cybersecurity deficiencies, maintaining cost-effective security programs that scale with firm growth, and protecting client data from breaches that damage reputation and violate regulations.
Many RIAs work with us year after year not because we lock them into long contracts, but because we deliver consistent value: clear communication, practical advice, reasonable pricing, and security programs that genuinely protect their firms while satisfying increasingly stringent regulatory expectations.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about cybersecurity for financial advisors
What cybersecurity requirements does the SEC mandate for financial advisors?
How often should financial advisors conduct cybersecurity risk assessments?
What are the most common cybersecurity violations found during SEC examinations?
Do I need cyber insurance as a financial advisor?
How do I ensure my third-party vendors meet SEC cybersecurity requirements?
Ready to Strengthen Your Compliance Program?
Schedule a free consultation to discuss your SEC, FINRA, and GLBA compliance requirements. We'll help you build a security program that protects clients and passes regulatory examinations.