New Hire Onboarding Checklist

Verify the offer letter, employment agreement, and any restrictive covenants (non-solicit, garden leave) are countersigned and stored in NetDocuments. Flag protocol-for-broker-recruiting status if the hire is bringing client relationships from a prior firm — counsel review before any client contact.

Section 1 by end of Day 1; Section 2 within three business days of start. Originals reviewed in person or via DHS-approved remote verification. Late or missing I-9s are the most common DOL audit finding.

Order through your FCRA-compliant vendor (Sterling, HireRight, Checkr) with FCRA disclosure and consent forms signed first. Credit checks are required for any role with custody, signing authority, or access to client funds. Adverse findings require pre-adverse-action notice before withdrawing the offer.

Confirm whether the hire will be a registered representative, an investment adviser representative (IAR), dual-registered, or a non-registered operations role. This drives Form U4 filing, fingerprinting, ADV Part 2B brochure supplement updates, and supervisory placement on the OSJ roster.

Required under Advisers Act Rule 204A-1. Capture initial holdings report within 10 days of hire, listing every reportable security in covered accounts. Set up pre-clearance and quarterly transaction reporting in ComplySci or MyComplianceOffice.

Full disk encryption (BitLocker or FileVault), MDM enrollment, EDR agent installed, hardware MFA token issued. Laptop never leaves the office without disk encryption verified — Reg S-P safeguards rule plus state breach laws.

Confirm the new mailbox is journaling to Smarsh, Global Relay, or Microsoft Purview before the hire sends a single client email. Off-channel comms enforcement actions have totaled over $2B in recent BD/RIA settlements — closing this gap on Day 1 matters.

Provision MyRepChat, Hearsay Relate, or Smarsh Connected Capture. Walk through the policy: any client text from a personal number is a books-and-records violation. Disable iMessage on the work device if using a carrier-based archiving solution.

Provision Wealthbox, Redtail, or Salesforce Financial Services Cloud at the role's permission level. Add to eMoney, MoneyGuidePro, or RightCapital with read-only on existing client plans until shadow period ends.

Schwab Advisor Center, Fidelity Wealthscape, Altruist, or Pershing NetX360 access requested with the right entitlements (inquiry vs. trade vs. money movement). Black Diamond, Orion, or Tamarac access aligned to portfolio role. Money movement entitlements require a second principal's approval.

Cover CIP, beneficial ownership under the CDD rule (25%+ owners for entity accounts), SDN screening cadence, CTR thresholds, and the SAR escalation path. Required annually thereafter — log the certificate to the training file.

Walk through the four Reg BI obligations (disclosure, care, conflict, compliance) and the CRM-triggered Form CRS delivery at first recommendation, new account, or new service. Show where recommendation rationale gets documented in the CRM — exam staff want to see the why, not just the what.

Reg S-P privacy notice obligations, Identity Theft Red Flags / ITPP awareness, phishing simulation enrollment, and the verbal call-back rule for any wire instruction change. Wire fraud is the single largest dollar-loss event in this industry.

Capture every OBA — board seats, real estate holdings, side businesses, paid speaking. Separately capture political contributions for the prior two years under Advisers Act Rule 206(4)-5 pay-to-play; contributions to officials with influence over public plan business can trigger a two-year time-out.

FINRA Rule 3220 caps gifts at $100 per person per year; the firm's de minimis entertainment threshold may be lower. Show how to log every reportable gift or event in the G&E register at receipt — annual reset is a common gotcha.

Review every U4 disclosure question with the hire before submission — bankruptcies, liens, customer complaints, regulatory actions all require yes-answer detail. Late filings draw FINRA attention and dual-registered hires need both BD and IA jurisdictions selected on the same filing.

FINRA Rule 1010 requires fingerprints submitted within 30 days of registration. Use a FINRA-approved Livescan vendor or mail card service. A returned-not-readable result restarts the clock — don't wait until day 28.

Add the new IAR's brochure supplement covering education, business background, disciplinary information, and supervision. Clients who will receive advisory services from this IAR must receive the supplement before or at the time the relationship begins.

Sit through at least three full review cycles — discovery, plan presentation, IPS sign-off — before being introduced as the primary contact on any household. Watch how the senior advisor documents recommendation rationale in Wealthbox or Salesforce.

Walk the model lineup, drift thresholds, tax-loss harvesting rules, wash-sale guardrails, and the principal-review sign-off in iRebal, Tamarac, or Orion Eclipse before the new hire places a single trade.

Mentor handles day-to-day questions; CCO is the named escalation for any compliance question. Confirm the hire knows the difference and has both calendars.

Standing IC reviews model changes, manager additions or terminations, and any house view shifts. Minutes are part of the books-and-records file under Rule 204-2.

Schedule a working call with the Schwab, Fidelity, Pershing, or Altruist relationship manager and service team. Cover NIGO escalation paths, ACATS troubleshooting, and the specific human to call when a wire is stuck on a Friday afternoon.

Calendar holds set on Day 5 so they don't slip. The 30-day looks at training completion, the 60-day at first independent client interactions, and the 90-day at the full sign-off in the next step.

CCO reviews the assembled file: signed agreements, I-9, background report, U4 confirmation, fingerprint clearance, code of ethics acknowledgment, OBA disclosures, training certificates. Any open items get a named owner and a hard close date — don't leave the file partially open going into the next exam cycle.