Compliance Analyst – Trade Surveillance

Solutions for Today’s Challenges. Vision for Tomorrow’s Opportunities.

Join William Blair, the Premier Global Partnership.

William Blair is seeking a detail-oriented and highly motivated Compliance Analyst to support the firm’s trade surveillance and anti-money laundering (AML) programs across its broker-dealer and market-making operations. This role is responsible for monitoring trading activity, conducting investigations, regulatory reporting, and escalating potential violations of securities laws, FINRA and SEC rules, AML requirements, and internal policies.

This position operates with a high degree of independence and is expected to exercise sound judgment in identifying and escalating issues, recommend enhancements to controls and surveillance processes, and serve as a key resource to Trading, Operations, Risk Management, Legal, and Compliance. The team currently operates in a hybrid working model, with three days a week required to be in the office. 

Responsibilities include but may not be limited to:

• Support key requirements of the firm’s Equity Capital Markets, equities, and AML compliance programs.
• Perform compliance testing, surveillance, and monitoring for the ECM and equities business lines.
• Conduct surveillance reviews of equity and market-making activity for potential market abuse, including spoofing, layering, wash trading, marking the open or close, front-running, excessive trading, insider trading, short-sale violations, market-access, and best-execution concerns.
• Review surveillance alerts and investigate potential market-conduct concerns and trading irregularities.
• Analyze trading patterns using surveillance platforms, order management systems, CAT data, and market data.
• Document reviews, investigations, and findings, and escalate potential regulatory violations to Compliance management and Legal.
• Help enhance and calibrate surveillance scenarios to improve effectiveness and reduce false positives.
• Review customer transactions, cash movements, wire transfers, account behavior, and exception reports for indicators of money laundering, fraud, suspicious activity, or other financial crime risks.
• Conduct AML investigations using customer due diligence, transactional analysis, and external research, and prepare well-supported case files.
• Determine whether activity warrants possible SAR filing, draft clear and fact-based SAR narratives, and track reporting deadlines.
• Prepare surveillance and AML metrics for Compliance management and senior leadership.
• Identify emerging regulatory risks and control gaps, and recommend enhancements to policies, controls, and monitoring processes.
• Provide guidance to front-office and Operations teams on surveillance, AML requirements, and firm procedures.
• Help develop and deliver compliance training on applicable regulatory obligations.
• Assist with regulatory examinations, inquiries, audits, and remediation efforts.
• Support updates to Written Supervisory Procedures, AML policies, and surveillance procedures.
• Additional responsibilities as needed.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, business, economics, or a related field.
• 3–6 years of relevant experience in compliance, trade surveillance, AML, or broker-dealer operations.
• Strong knowledge of securities trading, equity market structure, and market-making activities.
• Strong understanding of applicable FINRA and SEC trading regulations.
• Experience reviewing and investigating surveillance alerts.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, with sound judgment in identifying and escalating issues.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced Excel skills; familiarity with Power BI or other data visualization tools is a plus.
• Experience in an institutional broker-dealer, market-making, and Equity Capital Markets trading environment.
• Experience with trade surveillance and AML monitoring platforms preferred; familiarity with Abel Noser or Trading Technologies is a plus.
• Experience supporting SEC or FINRA examinations.
• FINRA Series 7, 24, or 99 registrations and CAMS certification are preferred, as applicable.
• Detail-oriented and organized, with the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• Collaborative, proactive, intellectually curious, and comfortable working independently.
• Demonstrated commitment to compliance, integrity, and ownership of assignments.

#LI-CH

#LI-HYBRID