Deputy Chief Compliance Officer

Overview

This role supports the modernization and day-to-day leadership of an enterprise compliance function for an ETF investment and technology platform. The Deputy Chief Compliance Officer will help unify and operate compliance programs covering the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and related enterprise-wide requirements (including privacy, cybersecurity, conflicts, employee conduct, and service provider oversight).

The Deputy reports to the Chief Compliance Officer and works closely with the General Counsel, senior management, fund boards, independent trustees, and compliance stakeholders across the organization. Over time, the role may be delegated authority and may be formally appointed to assume some or all CCO responsibilities.

Responsibilities

• Day-to-day compliance leadership across the compliance structure, integrating:
  • Investment company trust compliance
  • Investment guideline compliance
  • Investment adviser compliance
  • Due diligence requirements
• Set standards and establish accountability across compliance programs; challenge the business; drive remediation; and make risk visible before it becomes an incident.
• Embed Compliance across the product lifecycle, from concept and registration statement filing through onboarding, launch, and material change, including enhanced scrutiny for derivatives and Rule 18f-4 compliance, leverage, custom baskets, commodity interests, and digital asset related exposures.
• Lead technology-enabled compliance improvements, leveraging data, workflow automation, and thoughtfully governed AI to strengthen:
  • Surveillance and testing
  • Evidence and issue management
  • Regulatory change monitoring
  • Board reporting
  • Manual process reduction while maintaining human judgment
• Serve as the senior escalation point and maintain a single view of material compliance risk, recurring control failures, open issues, and remediation.
• Advisers Act compliance: Lead the Rule 206(4)-7 compliance program and related controls covering:
  • Portfolio management
  • Trading
  • Best execution
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Codes of Ethics
  • Marketing Rule
  • Disclosures
  • Regulatory filings
  • Books and records
• Investment guideline compliance: Oversee pretrade and posttrade monitoring, including:
  • Rule coding
  • Data quality
  • Exception governance
  • Escalation across regulatory, tax, disclosure, board, and internal investment restrictions
• 1940 Act compliance: Lead the Rule 38a-1 compliance program across multiple ETF trusts, including:
  • Program administration
  • Annual reviews
  • Risk-based testing
  • Service provider oversight
  • Board reporting
  • Identification, escalation, and remediation of Material Compliance Matters
• Due diligence: Build a risk-tiered program for sponsors, advisers, subadvisers, portfolio managers, index providers, and critical service providers, including risk ratings, conditions, and ongoing monitoring.
• Broker-dealer compliance: Build and maintain a compliance infrastructure for a captive broker-dealer incorporating Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and FINRA compliance to meet needs of the affiliated investment adviser and ETF series trusts.
• Regulatory examination readiness: Lead SEC, CFTC, NFA, and other applicable regulators’ examination and inquiry readiness, response, and remediation.
• Team leadership: Build a technically strong, cross-trained compliance team while preserving Compliance independence and the challenge function.

Authority and Independence

• Direct access to the Chief Compliance Officer, General Counsel, and relevant fund boards.
• Access to records, systems, personnel, and service providers needed to perform the role.
• Authority to require remediation and escalate material or repeated issues.
• When delegated by the Chief Compliance Officer, the Deputy may pause onboarding, filing, launch, trade, marketing items, or other activities while a material requirement remains unresolved.
• First-line teams remain responsible for compliant execution, and formally designated program owners retain statutory responsibilities unless and until a separate appointment is made.

Qualifications

• At least 12 years of progressive investment management compliance experience, including senior leadership of ETF, Rule 38a-1, and Rule 206(4)-7 programs.
• Credibility with complex products and operating models, including options, swaps, futures, leverage, inverse strategies, commodity interests, or digital asset related exposures.
• Demonstrated record of taking control of a complex function, simplifying it, and building scalable systems that measurably reduce risk through responsible use of data, automation, and AI.
• Exceptional judgment and communication, including the confidence to advise a CEO and fund board, challenge senior leaders, and make difficult decisions without becoming bureaucratic.
• Prior experience as a Deputy CCO, named CCO, or senior leader in a multi-series fund complex, ETF platform, or multi-manager environment is strongly preferred.
• Relevant professional credential is a plus.

Preferred Qualifications

• Prior experience as a Deputy CCO, named CCO, or senior leader in a multi-series fund complex, ETF platform, or multi-manager environment.
• A relevant professional credential.

How Success Looks in 12 Months

• Complete operating leadership of the compliance architecture—people, programs, controls, systems, data, escalation paths, and external relationships.
• Act as a trusted adviser to the CEO, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, senior management, and fund boards.
• Proactive de-risking through anticipating issues, fixing root causes, and bringing forward solutions (not just identifying problems).
• Material issues identified early and resolved on time, with reduced recurring findings and aged remediation.
• Compliance proactively embedded in development and launch of novel or complex products.
• Forward-looking risk insights delivered to management and the Board.
• Technology and AI leveraged to reduce manual processes and strengthen control coverage.

Location

Candidates should be located within proximity to:

• Chicago, IL
• Milwaukee, WI
• New York City, NY
• West Palm Beach, FL