CASE STUDY 03
Firm-Wide Compliance Education & Behavior Change
Guggenheim Investments | 2016–2019
Strengthening firm-wide compliance education across 18 regulatory topics for more than 280 employees, contributing to an approximately 67% reduction in compliance violations.
THE CHALLENGE
Compliance education needed to translate regulatory requirements into clear employee expectations.
Supporting a firm of more than 280 employees required compliance education that could address a broad range of regulatory and ethical responsibilities while remaining clear and relevant to employees. The opportunity was to strengthen awareness across critical compliance topics and reinforce employees' understanding of their responsibilities.
The work required coordinating firm-wide education alongside broader compliance responsibilities, including policies and procedures, personal securities transactions, regulatory developments and ongoing compliance oversight.
THE investigation
Understanding where education could have the greatest impact.
The approach centered on identifying the regulatory and ethical topics employees needed to understand, connecting education to broader compliance priorities and using ongoing compliance activity to inform areas requiring greater awareness.
01
EMPLOYEE NEEDS
-
Firm-wide responsibilities
-
Areas requiring clarification
-
Practical employee guidance
THE GOAL
Focus compliance education on the areas where greater understanding could strengthen employee awareness and regulatory adherence.
02
COMPLIANCE priorities
- Regulatory obligations
- Policies & procedures
- Ethical responsibilities
03
EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES
-
Training priorities
-
Critical compliance topics
-
Ongoing reinforcement
THE STRATEGY
Turn complex compliance requirements into education employees could understand and apply.
The program combined structured compliance education, employee questionnaires and external training resources to reinforce expectations across a broad range of regulatory and ethical responsibilities.
01 CLARIFY
02 EDUCATE
03 REINFORCE
Translate complex compliance requirements into understandable employee guidance.
Deliver structured education across 18 critical compliance topics.
Use questionnaires, training resources and ongoing communication to strengthen awareness and accountability.
THE execution
Bringing compliance education across the firm.
01
Supported firm-wide compliance education across 18 regulatory and ethical topics for more than 280 employees.
02
Coordinated with external training vendors to support employee compliance education.
03
Supported the annual compliance questionnaire process across the firm.
04
Developed and implemented compliance policies and procedures to reinforce regulatory expectations.
05
Integrated regulatory developments and emerging compliance considerations into policies and employee education.
06
Supported broader compliance oversight across personal securities transactions, marketing materials and regulatory requirements.
THE IMPACT
Compliance education that translated into measurable behavior change.
≈67% ↓
COMPLIANCE VIOLATIONS
280+
18
EMPLOYEES
COMPLIANCE TOPICS
Firm-wide compliance education across 18 topics supported more than 280 employees and contributed to an approximately 67% reduction in compliance violations.
LEADERSHIP TAKEAWAY
“Effective compliance education is not measured by whether training was delivered. It is measured by whether people understand what is expected and change how they act.”
Effective compliance education connects regulatory requirements to the decisions employees make in their day-to-day work. By combining broad organizational reach, structured education and ongoing reinforcement, compliance training can become an active component of a firm's broader risk and compliance program.
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