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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Start by identifying the legal entity behind your account and the role it plays: investment adviser, broker-dealer, custodian, fund manager—or more than one. Then compare its disclosures with the account statements, audit reports, and performance materials that relate to your specific account or fund. Each document answers a different question; none alone proves that an investment is safe, that every conflict has been resolved, or that past returns will continue.
This guide focuses on US investment services. “Investment platform” is not a single regulatory category, so the documents and protections that apply depend on the entity, service, account, and product.
Who is responsible for the account?
Write down the legal name shown on your account agreement and identify what that entity does. A company may provide advice, execute trades, hold assets, manage a fund, or perform several of those functions through related entities. Do not assume an adviser’s disclosure rules cover every service a platform offers.
For an adviser relationship, read the agreement and use regulator resources to check the firm and relevant professionals, their registration information, and available history. Investor.gov recommends checking an investment professional’s background and reviewing the relationship documents: Investor.gov’s guide to investment advisers. Registration is not government approval or a guarantee of results.
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Which disclosures should you read for an adviser?
Form CRS: a short orientation
Form CRS is a retail-facing relationship summary. It describes services, fees and costs, conflicts, standards of conduct, legal or disciplinary history, and questions to ask. Use it to get oriented, then check the more detailed filing and your agreement. Investor.gov explains Form ADV and its components.
Form ADV Part 1: structured firm information
Part 1 provides structured information about an adviser’s business, ownership, clients, practices, affiliations, and disciplinary matters. Use the latest available filing rather than relying on an old copy, and compare the legal entity and services described there with the account documents in front of you.
Form ADV Part 2A: the firm brochure
Part 2A is a narrative brochure covering advisory services, strategies and risks, fees, conflicts, and disciplinary matters. Locate the sections on compensation, other costs, conflicts, and how the adviser manages them. The brochure is a description of stated practices; check actual charges and account activity against statements.
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Form ADV Part 2B: information about supervised people
Part 2B concerns supervised individuals who provide advice or make discretionary decisions. Read it when you need information about the person responsible for advice or investment decisions, rather than treating the firm brochure as a complete profile of every individual.
Investor.gov’s Form ADV brochure bulletin says advisers generally must provide clients an annual summary of material brochure changes together with a revised brochure or an offer to provide one. That bulletin was updated August 27, 2020; if the exact current delivery obligation matters, check current SEC form instructions and rules.
How can you work out what you are paying?
Build the cost picture from the advisory fee schedule and every other charge that applies to the account or products. A quoted advisory fee is not necessarily the account’s full cost.
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- Find the advisory fee terms. Note the rate or schedule, whether the fee is negotiable, how it is calculated, when it is billed, and whether it is deducted from the account.
- Add other costs described. Look for brokerage, custody, transaction, and fund expenses, as well as other charges applicable to the service or products you use.
- Compare disclosure with activity. Check account statements and transaction records for actual deductions and charges, and ask the provider to explain any fee you cannot match to the agreement or brochure.
- Trace incentives and related compensation. Look for performance-based fees, sales compensation, referrals, side-by-side management, or payments from product providers to the platform or a related person. Ask how an incentive could affect recommendations and what the firm does about it.
A disclosed conflict is not evidence that it has been eliminated. Assess what the arrangement means for the service and recommendations you receive. The SEC’s investment adviser marketing guide and Investor.gov brochure bulletin describe relevant adviser disclosure and marketing topics.
What does an account audit actually establish?
First identify what was audited. An audit of a pooled fund’s financial statements is not the same as an examination of an adviser’s internal controls, and neither is interchangeable with the account statements a custodian sends you.
| Document or safeguard | What it addresses | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Custodian statement | Account holdings and activity reported by the custodian | Legal custodian, statement period, transactions, balances, and whether the report corresponds to your account |
| Independent surprise examination | Under the custody framework, verification of client assets when applicable | Whether the adviser’s circumstances require it and what entity, assets, and period the examination covers |
| Audited pooled-fund financial statements | A fund’s financial statements for the audited period | Fund legal entity, fiscal period, auditor, opinion, statements and notes, and delivery to investors where required |
| Audit of an operator or internal controls | The specific entity, controls, or subject identified in the report | Scope and opinion; do not treat it as an audit of an individual account or a fund unless the report says so |
SEC custody materials describe qualified custodians, including banks and registered broker-dealers, and direct periodic statements in relevant circumstances. They also describe an independent surprise examination when applicable. An eligible pooled investment vehicle may use an annual audited financial-statement route subject to requirements; among them, the statements must be distributed to investors within 120 days after fiscal year-end. Which requirements apply depends on the adviser’s custody circumstances, account type, and any applicable exemption. See the SEC’s custody-rule compliance guide.
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For any audit report, record the audited legal entity, reporting period, audit firm, opinion, qualifications or emphasis paragraphs, and statements and notes included. Confirm whether investors received the report when distribution is required. A description of an audit process in a brochure does not establish that a specific year’s audit was completed or delivered. The SEC’s September 17, 2024 custody-rule enforcement release illustrates that advisers have been charged when required audits or distribution failed.
For electronic delivery, SEC Division of Investment Management staff guidance says a client may receive statements electronically if the client gives informed consent, can effectively access the information, and there is evidence of delivery, such as an email return-receipt or other confirmation of access. This is staff guidance, not a substitute for the rule text; see the SEC’s custody-rule staff responses.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How should you test a performance claim?
Classify the number before comparing it. A return for your account, a fund return, a benchmark, and an advertised model or hypothetical result are not automatically comparable.
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- Period: Record the exact start and end dates. Compare providers over matching periods.
- Fees: Check whether returns are gross or net, which fees were deducted, and what assumptions were used.
- Benchmark: Identify the benchmark and its basis. A comparison is useful only when the benchmark and the investment strategy are meaningfully comparable.
- Cash flows and portfolio coverage: Ask whether cash flows are included and whether the results represent all relevant similar portfolios or only selected investments.
- Type of result: Identify extracted investment results, predecessor performance, and hypothetical results. Ask what assumptions and methodology produced them.
- Source document: Distinguish advertising or marketing material from account statements and audited fund financial statements.
The SEC marketing rule imposes conditions and prohibitions concerning adviser advertisements, including gross and net performance, time periods, extracted results, hypothetical performance, and predecessor performance. The SEC guide says the rule and related amendments became effective May 4, 2021, with a November 4, 2022 compliance date; those dates describe implementation, not whether a particular provider complies. SEC staff FAQs discuss application details and may change: see the marketing compliance FAQs and the SEC marketing guide.
To check account-level figures, reconcile values and transactions against custodian statements, then compare the performance report’s calculation method and dates with the account records. A regulator filing or rule is not SEC approval of an investment or of a platform’s performance calculation. Past performance cannot predict future results.
How do you compare two platforms fairly?
Compare providers serving the same account type and service level, using the same time window and assumptions. Record unknowns as unknown rather than filling gaps with guesses.
| Comparison point | What to put side by side |
|---|---|
| Role and registration | Legal entities, services each provides, and relevant registration information |
| Total cost | Advisory fees plus applicable brokerage, custody, transaction, fund, and other costs |
| Conflicts and incentives | Compensation sources, referral or sales incentives, and stated conflict-management arrangements |
| Asset custody | Who holds the assets, what statements you receive, and how those statements are delivered |
| Audit evidence | Audited entity, scope, auditor, period, opinion, and investor distribution where required |
| Performance | Net results after relevant costs, matching periods, comparable strategies, and appropriate benchmarks |
Filings and disciplinary records can help you assess a provider’s stated practices and history. Statements and underlying reports help you check what happened in a particular account or fund. Neither source, by itself, establishes future returns or the absence of risk.
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