According to the SEC, a primary responsibility of an investment adviser is the supervision of its employees, to ensure that all of its activities comply with disclosures made to clients and with the provisions of applicable securities laws. The most effective way to fulfill this responsibility is to construct and implement a comprehensive system of internal controls and supervisory procedures. During an inspection, examiners carefully evaluate advisers' internal controls and supervisory procedures.

One issue that the SEC sites is when an investment adviser establishes comprehensive written control procedures, but does not properly monitor its business activities for compliance with these procedures. MessageWatcher provides a solution that lets advisers monitor their business activities to become compliant.

Archiving and Surveillance E-mail and instant messages are now the communication of choice between employees and with many corporate customers. Corporate IT managers and compliance officers are becoming aware of the huge risk of fines, penalties, and litigation related to e-mail and instant messaging. The SEC mandates all regulated financial services firms monitor and archive instant messaging, e-mail & attachments
$1.67 million in fines were levied against Salomon Smith Barney, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, and U.S. Bancorp Piper for not producing emails when requested by regulators.
Millions of daily e-mail and instant messages sent to and from financial services firms have created a new management challenge in controlling content and mitigating risk
Flexibility, open and definable systems are now required for managing e-mail and instant messaging at most businesses, even at small firms
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act increases the need for companies to retain files, including email
In addition to NASD and SEC audits, e-mail and instant messages are now becoming commonplace in discovery requests in corporate lawsuits. E-mail and instant message archival and retrieval should be a process that withstands these audits and discovery requests similar to corporate paper records and other corporate electronic documents. Not complying properly may expose the corporation and its officers to penalties, fines as well as legal consequences such as destruction of evidence charges and adverse judgments.