Essential Edge Enhances Its Leadership in Financial Services Compliance Consulting with Hire of Robert Franklin

Industry Veteran Brings 24 Years Experience Across All Aspects of Compliance to Firm's Large and Complex Consulting Assignments

Latest Addition Joins Team Prior to Firm's Participation as Exhibitor at 2023 FINRA Annual Conference in Washington D.C., May 16-18

SANTA FE COUNTY, N.M., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC ("Essential Edge"), a regulatory and compliance supervision consultancy for financial services firms, today announced the expansion of its team with the addition of industry veteran Robert Franklin as Senior Manager. Working closely with Sander Ressler, Founder & Managing Partner of Essential Edge, Mr. Franklin will enhance the firm's strong compliance consulting capabilities.

Essential Edge was created to help heavily regulated financial services firms identify and resolve compliance issues before they turn into expensive, time-consuming regulatory and legal matters. The firm delivers clients comprehensive, cost-efficient and high-quality consulting services.

Mr. Ressler said, "We are thrilled to welcome someone with Rob's experience to the firm. Having grown up in the regulatory and compliance areas of wealth management over the past 24 years, he has seen and done it all. His hands-on knowledge, problem-solving expertise and unique perspective are the exact skill set clients look for with Essential Edge. Rob will be a great addition to our senior team and provide us with even more capacity to continue taking on larger and increasingly complex projects for firms across the wealth management space."

Increased Support for Large and Complex Client Needs

As part of its growing team, Mr. Franklin will allow Essential Edge to increase its delivery of fully outsourced compliance branch inspections, problem resolution services and expert consulting to Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs), financial adviser practices affiliated with independent broker-dealers (IBDs), registered investment adviser (RIA) and insurance practices throughout the country. He will lead teams that support in-house compliance departments with everything from testing and reporting to Reg-BI reviews and mock SEC exams.

"I'm looking forward to joining Sander and his terrific team at Essential Edge," said Mr. Franklin. "I've lived and breathed compliance at a number of wealth management and financial services firms over the years. It's a refreshing change, and exciting prospect, to be able to share my expertise broadly with Essential Edge's impressive roster of clients. The regulatory landscape has changed dramatically in the recent past, and that rate of change shows no signs of slowing. Firms in our industry want to do the right thing, but sometimes they need outside support to ensure their compliance programs are optimized. That's where we come in and where I can leverage my hard-won experience to really make a difference."  

Mr. Franklin was most recently at Kestra Financial, where he was Assistant Vice President and AML Officer. In his more than 10 years at Kestra, Mr. Franklin was responsible for the firm's Anti-Money Laundering efforts, Branch Examinations, Internal Testing and Investigations. He was also the firm's Privacy Officer.

Prior to Kestra, Mr. Franklin held various regulatory and compliance positions at financial services firms, including Sanders Morris Harris, Moody Securities, NFP Securities, Nationwide Securities and Williams Financial Group. He began his career with HD Vest Financial Services in 1999. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science.

Exhibiting at 2023 FINRA Annual Conference

Mr. Franklin will be joining the Essential Edge team prior to its first-time participation as an exhibitor at the 2023 FINRA Annual Conference. This year's event will be held in Washington D.C., from May 16-18. Attendees from independent wealth management firms who may benefit from customized, scalable and cost-effective outsourced compliance solutions should stop by the Essential Edge booth in the exhibit hall and speak with Mr. Ressler and his team about the firm's capabilities.

About Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services LLC

Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC ("Essential Edge") is a strategic consultancy specializing in compliance and regulatory affairs. Headquartered in Lamy, New Mexico and engaging 10+ seasoned compliance supervision professionals across the country, Essential Edge delivers outsourced branch inspections to Offices of Supervisory Jurisdiction (OSJs) and independent financial adviser practices affiliated with broker-dealers throughout the country. Essential Edge's service offerings are designed to rapidly identify and resolve compliance issues in branch office sales and operations for independent broker-dealers before they escalate into expensive and time-consuming issues. For more information, please visit www.eeoutsourcing.com.

Media Contact:

Beth Barak, Director

Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC

[email protected]

SOURCE Essential Edge Compliance Outsourcing Services, LLC