Talk to compliance professionals about their careers. Ask your business teacher or school counselor to help arrange an interview. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What type of software do you use to do your work? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What are some key skills for success? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? Perhaps you could even job-shadow a compliance professional to learn even more about the field.

Visit the Web sites of Fidelity, The Vanguard Group, USAA, and other mutual fund companies to learn about their compliance departments. Join business and finance clubs to improve your knowledge of business and financial practices. In addition, check out Mutual Funds and ETFs: A Guide for Investors: https://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/sec-guide-to-mutual-funds.pdf.

Job responsibilities for compliance professionals vary by type and size of employer, job title, and other criteria, but most perform the following duties:

• overseeing the firm’s registrations and annual filings with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as with state agencies
• reviewing guidelines for new funds/products set forth in the fund’s prospectuses and statements of additional information, and coordinating with other compliance professionals, investment advisers, and legal teams to make sure that investment guidelines and restrictions are working as expected
• developing and maintaining compliance policies and procedures that adhere to applicable laws and regulations
• conducting compliance testing, quality assurance, and ad-hoc reviews to ensure that the registered investment adviser (an individual or organization that provides advice about securities) meets regulatory requirements
• conducting tests to ensure that the firm’s internal compliance controls are in place and functioning
• reporting violations of compliance or regulatory standards to enforcement agencies as appropriate or required
• implementing corrective action plans that address compliance issues identified during compliance testing and reviews
• reviewing all marketing materials (including those at the firm’s Web site) and fund filings for consistency and compliance with all applicable laws
• communicating compliance policies to sales and marketing staff and other departments in the firm
• designing and overseeing compliance training programs for the firm’s employees
• assisting in regulatory reviews—including internal audits, exams, and inquiries—to ensure that compliance procedures are followed
• maintaining databases of the firm’s compliance activities (such as complaints received, the firm’s responses, and investigation outcomes)
• coordinating with other departments (risk management, legal, trading, portfolio management, etc.) to investigate and resolve any compliance issues and responding to alleged violations of rules or regulations
• preparing quarterly reports for the board of directors or board of trustees and attending board meetings, as necessary
• assessing and implementing new SEC regulations
• responding to regulatory inquiries
• staying abreast of industry best practices by attending periodic due diligence meetings, webinars, and conferences
• using reporting, compliance program management, portfolio monitoring, electronic communication archiving and review, and other software to collect information for regulatory filings and firm records

Technology—such as advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI)—continues to change the work of compliance professionals. Advanced AI is being used by compliance professionals to identify potential risks, monitor compliance programs, provide insights into compliance data, automate compliance tasks, and meet other goals. "However, as with any rapidly evolving technology, there are a number of issues and challenges that compliance officers need to be aware of before deploying AI solutions within their corporate compliance programs," according to DLA Piper, an international law firm. These issues include making sure that AI models incorporate bias into its models, understanding the logic of AI models (i.e., ensuring that decisions or recommendations that are made are based on trustworthy information), and ensuring that the use of AI complies with all applicable regulations, including data privacy laws.